THE people of Craven united on Tuesday night to tell North Yorkshire's chief constable to leave the division alone.

Around 200 residents from across the district packed into Skipton Town Hall, and voted unanimously to retain the local police division with its current management structure.

The meeting was called by county councillors Tim Cole, Irene Greaves, Robert Heseltine and Shelagh Marshall after the Herald revealed the division could disappear as part of a force review.

Only last week, Craven's Community and Police Group said it was unhappy with any merger proposals, fearing it would result in a loss of confidence and a worse standard of service.

Chief Constable David Kenworthy assured the gathering that no decisions had been taken, but said he had to make savings as he was facing a £4 million deficit in his budget next year.

"Craven is an extraordinarily successful division, and since 1992, crime has been halved locally," he told the meeting. "You are living in a very very safe place.

"My dilemma is how can I actually keep your safety and wellbeing paramount while achieving the financial savings I have got to make. The sad fact is I cannot leave everything as it is because we wouldn't survive next year."

But district councillor Steve Place appealed to Mr Kenworthy to treat Craven as a special case.

"I urge you to recognise Craven as a separate entity to the remainder of North Yorkshire. We are in a corner, locked in a vice, and the screws are turning. We have Colne, Burnley, Bradford and Leeds on two of our four corners.

"It is not a crisis of confidence in what we have got, but in what we might lose, are about to lose or are to lose. The police in Craven do a pretty damn good job, and now is not the time to damage the system."

And he asked what were the views of local officers towards possible merger. "I think the general view is that they want to retain the present division," admitted divisional commander Supt Andy Parker.

Craven Herald editor Ian Lockwood noted the drop in crime seemed to coincide with the formation of the Craven division.

"The police have done a great job, and we do not want you to jeopardise that by taking facilities away to Harrogate," he said. "Craven is not the only area where cuts can be made - they could be made in Northallerton."

And former Skipton police officer Jim Metcalfe recalled that once before the district had been swallowed up as a sub-division of Harrogate.

"We have been there and done that, and we felt like second class citizens," he declared. "If there was just an inspector in charge here, senior officers at Harrogate would pull rank and drag resources away from Skipton."

Skipton mayor Coun Paul Whitaker said the people of Craven paid their rates the same as anyone else, and yet they always seemed to lose out. "They deserve the same level of police officers as the people of Harrogate," he added.

And Kettlewell parish councillor Ian Cuthbert highlighted the supervision problems in Harrogate.

"How can the team spirit which exists in Skipton be maintained if the division was taken in with Harrogate," he asked.

Mr Kenworthy said that was down to proper management. "This is not about penalising people for their good work, or about rewarding or not rewarding them," he declared.

District Coun Peter Walbank questioned whether savings could not be found in reducing the number of early retirements due to ill health.

Mr Kenworthy admitted his pensions bill was "disgustingly high", swallowing up 16 per cent of the budget, but said it would take time to rectify the matter.

There was praise for the Craven Herald from Bentham mayor Wendy Dowbiggin, and the chairman of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority Robert Heseltine for highlighting the issue.

Ingleton resident Mary Kendall urged the chief constable to listen to the arguments and treat Craven as a special case. "Otherwise, all the money saved will be needed to redress a wrong decision. I appeal to you on behalf of the whole of Craven to think carefully."

Concluding, Mr Kenworthy said he was conscious of the strength of feeling in Craven.

"I can assure you it will not be a decision which is made lightly, and I will take your views into consideration."

He is expected to reveal his decision to the Police Authority later this month.

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