Chief Constable Dave Jones has (22 July 2014) welcomed a report judging North Yorkshire Police as “good” when it comes to providing value for money.
The report called Policing in Austerity – Meeting the Challenge, issued today by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, also rates North Yorkshire Police’s efficiency as “outstanding” and rates its financial planning for the future as “good”.
The report said: As a low-cost force, North Yorkshire has made good progress in reducing costs still further while retaining its commitment to neighbourhood policing. The force is delivering the required savings today while investing and developing an affordable way to deliver policing in the future.
The report also found that North Yorkshire Police:
- is on track to achieve its required savings of £16m over the spending review period;
- has plans in place to deliver most of the savings needed in 2014/15
- is developing detailed savings plans for 2016/17, with potential options for savings from collaboration and partnership, and it is about to commence planning for 2017/18
- has worked hard to retain police officer numbers with only a 6% reduction in the number of police officers 2010 – 2015, has successfully increased the proportion of officers in frontline roles, and has plans to increase staffing to deal with future challenges
- has achieved higher levels of victim satisfaction in comparison to other forces in the 12 months to March 2014
Chief Constable Dave Jones, said: There is no doubt that policing against the backdrop of financial cuts is challenging but it’s good to see that HMIC recognises the work that has been undertaken across North Yorkshire to deal with the unprecedented cuts we have seen over the past four years.
What matters to me is that we provide the people of North Yorkshire with best possible service, that victims of crime are supported when they are at their most vulnerable, and that offenders are brought to justice.
Nothing will change those priorities and it is up to us to ensure that we manage our resources with those priorities in mind.
Our figures for reducing crime and for victim satisfaction are already some of the best in the country and while it will be a challenge to improve on these, I am confident that our plans for the future, which include investing in technology and cutting bureaucracy will help us to become more responsive.I am passionate about keeping officers visible in our communities. I believe this is crucial to successful policing and I know this is what the public want to see too. To that end, the Police and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan and I are committed to retaining operational strengths.
In June 2014, North Yorkshire Police announced plans for the future of policing in York and North Yorkshire and how the force enhancing front line policing against a backdrop of budget savings.
More information about the new Operational Policing Model is available at www.northyorkshire.police.uk/opm
