In these days when transparency and openness are watchwords for publicly-funded organisations, it is good to see West Yorkshire Police asking the people they serve for their opinions.

The concept of ‘value for money’ in policing terms is a difficult one to nail down. It probably depends on how much contact you’ve had with the police in recent years.

Asking the question whether the police offer value for money, though, is likely to get a general response that people would like to see more front-line policing.

The perception is that far too much police time and money is spent on backroom activities, and not enough getting bobbies out on the beat and providing a visible police presence as a deterrent to criminals and ready assistance for those who need it.

Like any other public body, the police are feeling the pressure from budget cuts, and have to deploy their resources as sensibly as possible.

But it will be interesting to see the results of this survey, and to see how closely those in control of the purse strings listen to the people’s comments.

Deterring crime and bringing wrongdoers to book must be the priorities of any police force, and if West Yorkshire Police can beef up that side of their service as well as maintaining their “off-stage” admin duties, then they really will be providing that much sought-after value for money.