Herald acts to save police division

We revealed a couple of weeks ago that North Yorkshire Police were undertaking a county-wide boundary and structure review which could pose a threat to Craven's future.

The force is considering various options, ranging from keeping the current seven divisions to having just one, covering the whole of the county.

The fear is that Craven could lose its divisional status and be merged with somewhere like Harrogate or Richmond.

The review team is due to make its recommendations next month, but the Craven Herald has decided to act now so that local views can be taken into consideration.

Locally, the division has managed to cut crime by more than a third over the last four years, and that success is due to officers' commitment and the help of the public.

However, both factors could be lacking if the division loses its identity and becomes a satellite of somewhere with which it has no affinity.

We believe very strongly that the service would suffer, and our police stories would diminish if the merger went ahead and we had to get our information over the phone from officers miles away.

We are urging readers to write letters to the chief constable David Kenworthy at Police Headquarters, Newby Wiske Hall, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 9HA, or to ourselves, at 38 High Street, Skipton, BD23 1JU.

Victim of its own success

CRAVEN could be a victim of its own success - it could lose its divisional status because of its low crime rate.

Yet the figures are low because uniformed and CID officers have succeeded in reducing crime by more than a third over the last four years.

Indeed, the division has the best reduction and clear-up figures in the county.

But that doesn't mean that it needs less resources - Craven's success is due to intelligence-led policing, which means targeting known criminals and taking them out of circulation.

However that requires local knowledge, and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to co-ordinate operations from miles away.

Back in April, our leader article stated: "We must be ever-vigilant to protect our police service, just in case those dreaded accountants in Northallerton think that because crime is so low in Craven we can do with a few less police officers."

Now it seems our fears could come true, with the possibility of senior officers being transferred elsewhere.

Not long ago, the division was asked to embrace local area policing, with the aims of devolving decision making, bringing staff closer to the community, responding to local needs, and improving communications.

"We police by consent, and the police service we provide must reflect the needs of the communities we serve. Our style of service delivery, therefore, needs to be compatible with our external environment," said the force's brochure at the time.

Yes, local area policing has been a success, but now, with talk of mergers, a question mark must hang over the force's commitment to it. You cannot have local policing without the local aspect.

Without doubt, if Craven was managed from outside the area, the service would suffer, and communication channels would be lost.

Voluntary groups such as Craven Crime Prevention Panel and Victim Support could be adversely affected if there is no input from senior officers.

And what will happen to the Craven Community Safety Partnership?

Pulling together the police, local authority, health authority, probation officers and voluntary groups, the group is still in its infancy.

For it to succeed, it needs a locally-based senior police officer, who can make decisions on behalf of the force.

Another threat to local service

ONCE again, Craven looks like losing out. Over recent years, it has seen the closure of courthouses, local gas and electricity showrooms, banks - the list is almost endless.

Now it seems the police could be cutting its services. At worst, the area could be left with just an inspector in charge.

It is less than two years since there was a public outcry when the force proposed moving the local control room, intelligence unit and crime desk to Harrogate.That battle was won, and a £300,000 extension was built at Skipton Police Station which included a new control room.

However, just five months after it became operational, the force recommended that the number of control rooms should be reduced from seven to two purpose-built ones which would house the very latest new technology.

That sounded the death knell for Skipton's new facilities, and caused much concern among staff.

At the time, the force said it would consult throughout North Yorkshire - in reality, the consultation was on where to locate the new control centres rather than whether the move should go ahead. That seems to have been a fait accompli.

And there are fears that consultation on possible mergers will be handled in the same way.

The review team has interviewed local staff and councillors, but there is a general feeling that decisions have already been made. And there has been no consultation with the general public, who actually fund and use the service.

Indeed, the Craven Community and Police Panel - which is supposed to provide a link between the public and police - does not even meet until November.

No doubt, the plans will be discussed by the North Yorkshire Police Authority - but that body does not have a representative from Craven.

Its members come from Tadcaster, Ripon, Harrogate, Scarborough, Richmond, Knaresborough, Whitby, Leyburn, Knottingley, York, Bedale, Malton, and Middlesbrough. They are hardly likely to fight a battle on behalf of Craven at, perhaps, the expense of their own residents.

As the current Policing Plan states: "The Police Authority can only perform its role effectively if it is in touch with the community it serves."

So how can members know the needs of Craven if they do not live or work locally? It is a unique area and is completely different to the rest of North Yorkshire.

Craven would undoubtedly lose out in a merger situation.

Is this the future?

THIS week Lancashire Police was strongly criticised for its management of major reforms.

Government inspectors accused the constabulary of failing to listen to staff, and mismanaging an internal shake-up.

They claimed that the reforms had caused low morale, and the pace of change had led to some loss of direction between headquarters and the force's six divisions.

The annual report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary also said it appeared the views of loyal and committed staff had been ignored.

It continues: "Her Majesty's Inspectors have a number of concerns, some of which are attributable to the pace and scale of the necessary change process, but other problems have been caused by the mismanagement of the process.

"While Lancashire Constabulary remains effective and efficient, there are grounds for improvement and much of this could be achieved through a change of management style, since some of the structural weaknesses may be a by-product of driving change in top gear, insufficient listening skills, and not fully harnessing good solid advice and opinion at various levels in the force."

The inspectors have called for a halt on further structural changes until the faults have been rectified.

Chief Constable Pauline Clare has said she is sorry. "I apologise for the way some staff feel they have been treated. We have taken steps to improve the situation and will continue to do so.

"It is clear, and we had already recognised from our own feedback from staff, that we did not succeed in making everyone feel that their views were important.

"For that, the chief officers of the force are sorry. We hold up our hands and admit that we need to learn from the experience."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.