AN Ilkley Parish councillor has warned that new policing plans could lead to a 'back door erosion' of police forces in Ilkley.

At a parish council meeting on Monday night, Councillor Michael Lynes raised the issue of whether more police 'task forces' could have an effect on

policing in Ilkley.

He said: "Policing priorities are going more towards task force groups, but there have been questions asked about whether this will affect the police in places like Ilkley."

He also expressed concern about officers from Ilkley working elsewhere within the Keighley division.

Speaking after the meeting, Coun Lynes praised effective policing in Ilkley over the last few years, but feared the new plans were a 'retrograde step'.

He said: "I am very concerned that in the last year we have seen officers who have been seconded to other duties in other areas. The new policing plan goes further into that type of policing.

"If you look at the policing plan, it says that there will be more of these special task forces in different areas looking at specific problems.

He added: " They are not pro-active policing which helps to keep the level of crime down in the first place."

Inspector Alison Bennet said: "There has been no indication at this stage that I am going to lose any staff.

"There is a move towards intelligence-led policing and pro-active groups to target specific issues, but each division has to work from the guidance of the policing plan, and we still maintain patrols and respond to 999 calls."

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