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Police slammed over company car waste
THE chairwoman of North Yorkshire Police Authority was called on to resign last night after a damning report found hundreds of thousands of pounds had been wasted providing expensive company cars for senior police officers.
An audit report to the police authority found that the force's superintendents and chief superintendents were not even trained to drive the 27 top-of-the-range Land Rover Discoveries and Volvo V70s they were provided with at enormous cost to the public purse.
The report also found that the force's previous claims that the vehicles were vital for use as "command platforms" at major incidents were "something of a misnomer" because senior officers rarely directed operations from the scene and were usually based in an office.
One of the few front-line policing uses specified in the report was the occasional stopping of a motorist for speeding.
It also debunked claims that the company cars were valuable in terms of attracting high-quality officers to North Yorkshire, saying there was no evidence to support the argument and pointing out the provision of a car was not included in recent job advertisements.
The revelations last night prompted Phil Willis, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, to call for Jane Kenyon's resignation.
He said she should carrythe can for supporting former chief constable Della Canningswhen she pushed through theacquisition of a fleet of high-performance vehicles three years ago.
Miss Kenyon declined to comment when contacted last night.
The force's new chief constable, Grahame Maxwell, has decided to end the automatic provision of company cars as a result of the report's findings.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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