Troubled force in spotlight again

FINDING Claudia Lawrence has been North Yorkshire Police's priority for more than a year and last night the force insisted that would not change – even though its two most senior officers have been told to stay away from its headquarters.

As the search continued for Miss Lawrence, who went missing in York last March, detectives were trying to solve the murder of village postmistress Diana Garbutt in Melsonby, near Richmond.

The two investigations, which have both attracted extensive media coverage, have put one of Britain's smallest police forces under the nation's gaze.

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Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell and his deputy Adam Briggs must now oversee those inquiries from outside the force's Newby Wiske headquarters while the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigates their conduct.

The investigation could hardly have come at a worse time, but Assistant Chief Constable Sue Cross said it would not affect the force's attempts to tackle major crimes.

She said: "The focus of North Yorkshire Police remains the maintenance of our excellent performance and a professional response to all policing activities including the major crime inquiries in which the force is currently engaged."

Ms Cross added that the force was thoroughly studying its recruitment process and would publish "regular progress updates" on its website.

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The IPCC investigation, with which senior officers have agreed to co-operate fully, is the latest in a series of controversies to dog the force in recent years.

Mr Maxwell joined North Yorkshire in May 2007, promising a "sea change" in attitudes following a string of damaging revelations about the force's spending during the reign of his predecessor, Della Cannings.

But the force has remained in the news for the wrong reasons during his tenure as audits into its financial past have uncovered embarrassing details.

The Yorkshire Post revealed last June how North Yorkshire had paid millions of pounds to suppliers and recruitment agencies in breach of rules.

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Internal auditors, taking a sample of payments of more than 50,000 made to suppliers, found that more than a fifth of them had not been subject to any competitive process or even a contract.

In 2008 it emerged that the wife of Supt Paul Ackerley, a police officer formerly in charge of training, was paid almost 400,000 for training services, often without going through a formal procurement process.

A separate inquiry in the same year found that the force had virtually no control over how its fleet of 500 vehicles was managed, with no evidence of why particular vehicles or suppliers were being chosen.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds had been spent on top-of-the-range company cars for superintendents. It followed the decision, taken by Ms Cannings in 2006, to spend 28,000 on a new bathroom suite for the chief constable's office.

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Mr Maxwell, who had almost 25 years' experience before he joined North Yorkshire, comes from a policing family.

He grew up in a police house, which his parents later bought, in Durham where his father was a village chief constable. His sister and brother-in-law have also served in the police.

Mr Maxwell began his career with Cleveland Police, starting as a bobby on the beat in Middlesbrough and progressing through the ranks to chief superintendent.

He then spent four years as an assistant chief constable at West Yorkshire Police, taking responsibility for specialist operations and territorial operations.

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In January 2005 he became deputy chief constable at South Yorkshire Police, where he restructured the force's organisation in Sheffield and helped introduce neighbourhood policing across the county.

He is the Association of Chief Police Officers' lead spokesman on people trafficking and is the programme director for Sheffield's UK Human Trafficking Centre.

Roads expert known at No 10

Deputy chief constable Adam Briggs has briefed Gordon Brown on crime-fighting tactics and led major road policing operations involving officers from across Europe.

The UK's lead officer on European road policing, Mr Briggs joined North Yorkshire Police in June 2007 – a month after Grahame Maxwell replaced Della Cannings as the force's chief constable.

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He met the Prime Minister in London in April 2008 to outline how the force had introduced "mini" police stations and offices in market towns and cities.

But he was criticised that same month after it emerged a captured Nazi U-boat clock, bearing a swastika, was on display in his office.

A North Yorkshire MP described the timepiece as "highly inappropriate", but Mr Briggs said that he kept it as a "daily reminder" of his war veteran father.

Mr Briggs, who is married with four children, previously held jobs with Cleveland Police and West Yorkshire Police.