Last summer North Yorkshire Police asked the public to prioritise the core tasks of neighbourhood policing. Over 5,500 responses were received.
The public survey was part of a nine-month project which the force undertook to better understand the demands on its neighbourhood teams across the county and city of York. They wanted to check the numbers of officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) needed to provide the neighbourhood policing communities wanted.
As well as the survey, the force carried out a time and motion study to establish the frequency, volume and duration of the tasks being undertaken and the number of officers and PCSOs needed. They reviewed all the activities that neighbourhood teams get involved with as well as reviewing the crime profile across the county. All this information helped assess where officers and PCSOs are best placed to deal with threat, harm and risk to communities.
So what were the neighbourhood policing priorities of the public?
High visibility patrols ranked as the number one priority for the public. Arresting key neighbourhood crime offenders was the second highest ranked activity and tackling organised crime groups was third.
Just as the neighbourhood policing review was being completed, the force received confirmation of additional government funding of £1.9m which is prioritised for spending on neighbourhood policing.
Speaking about the planned changes in North Yorkshire Police’s neighbourhood policing teams, Assistant Chief Constable Catherine Clarke said: “We are very grateful to the huge number of residents that took part in the survey. It has helped us to better understand what makes them feel safer in their communities, and we have absolutely taken that into account as we reshape our neighbourhood policing operations.
“All the work we have done provides a great foundation of evidence to base our decisions on. We are adjusting the mix of PCSOs and police officers in line with the public’s prioritisation of the activities they most value our neighbourhood teams getting involved with. We will have 112 officers and 122 PCSOs by March 2026, that is an uplift of 32 officers and 20 PCSOs.
“We are committed to our neighbourhood policing teams being more visible to the public. The assigned members of each team will be named and contactable via details published on our force website. There will be a 72-hour turnaround for any enquiries submitted to our neighbourhood teams.
“Each team will develop clear priorities based on what matters to their local community and provide updates and good news on developments and operational successes.
“Last year we worked hard on our mission to provide an outstanding service to the people of York and North Yorkshire to keep them safe, and feeling safe. We reduced antisocial behaviour by nearly 15%, total crime was reduced by 5.8% and house burglary was down by 9%. But we are far from complacent. We know how important it is for every single person living, work and visiting our great county to be able to place their trust in North Yorkshire Police in the knowledge that we are on their side and will tackle criminality wherever it exists in our county.”
