Recruitment drive for rural police

A RECRUITMENT drive to sign up scores of extra police officers is being launched as part of a revolution in crimefighting aimed at the heart of North Yorkshire’s rural communities.

Up to 60 new officers are due to join the ranks of the North Yorkshire force amid a continuing strategy to provide more resources in some of the county’s most isolated communities.

Senior officers claimed the recruitment campaign bucked a national trend which had seen many forces having to make cuts in the tough economic climate.

North Yorkshire Police is itself faced with making cost-cutting measures of up to 4m to ensure that it can balance its budgets for the forthcoming financial year.

However, Deputy Chief Constable Adam Briggs maintained that front-line crimefighting would not be affected by any savings.

He added: “We need to make sure that the public’s confidence in policing continues to rise, and to achieve this we need to make sure we have the officers out in the community.

“North Yorkshire remains one of the safest places to live in the country, but we cannot become complacent.

“Many police forces nationally are faced with some tough decisions because of their financial situation and recruitment freezes are having to be put in place.

“But we are able to continue to invest in North Yorkshire as a result of thorough planning which has already undertaken, and we need to preserve the number of officers to cover what is such a vast geographic area.”

The recruitment campaign goes live on Monday next week, and a dedicated telephone line will be available to cope with the predicted demand from potential applicants.

A similar campaign last year led to more than 1,100 applicants contacting the force.

Mr Briggs confirmed that rising unemployment rates during the recession had seen an increasing number of applicants, but he stressed that the North Yorkshire force’s reputation was also a key reason.

Potential recruits who call the hotline will be asked a series of questions to ensure that they are eligible. Those who progress through the initial sift will be then sent an application pack.

Once 1,000 application packs have been issued, the recruitment hotline will close.

The new recruits will ensure that the North Yorkshire force’s ranks remain at about the 1,500 mark, and are aimed at making good any retirements or officers leaving.

Many of the new officers will be deployed to mini-police stations and offices in the county’s market towns and cities as part of a multi-million-pound strategy to boost the number of front-line officers.

The new bases have been launched during the past year and are aimed at building closer links with the public to glean vital intelligence in the fight against crime by stationing officers in strategic locations to access North Yorkshire’s often remote rural communities.

However, concerns have nonetheless been voiced that financial pressures could impinge on the force’s ability to tackle crime effectively.

Senior officials from the Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, have warned that front-line services could be placed under increasing pressure as efforts intensify to implement cost-cutting measures.

Figures released by the federation have shown that the number of officers up to the rank of chief inspector in North Yorkshire has fallen from 1,648 in March 2007 to 1,482 in December last year.

The police authority maintained that an extra 66 officers and 19 new police community support officers have been recruited during the current financial year.