COUNCIL officers in York will be given new powers by police to help deal with antisocial behaviour.

A dozen staff at City of York Council, who work alongside police at the antisocial behaviour hub in West Offices will be issued with extended powers by the force in September, under a new scheme.

The powers will give the council workers the ability to act in place of officers at lower-level antisocial behaviour incidents, and will also give them access to the police radio system, allowing them to call for assistance from warranted officers if a situation escalates.

Jane Mowat, director of Safer York Partnership, said: "New Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) policing powers will be granted to 12 Neighbourhood Enforcement Officers who work at the hub alongside police officers, Safer York Partnership, Antisocial Behaviour Officers and mediation services.

"Together, they ensure that issues are tackled by the most appropriate agency and can also call on expertise from council departments including trading standards, licensing, and youth offending services."

Superintendent Phil Cain said: "Once up and running, the Neighbourhood Enforcement Officers will be working on the police radio network. That takes the pressure away from some of our resources, and ensures we are sending the right people to the right place at the right time.

"We’re working together to provide safe community environment. It’s not just about the police service, this is around a wider multi-agency approach. The key thing is for me to keep York a safe community."

Supt Cain said the force was working closely with probation and health services as well as the council, and "the glue that holds that together is information sharing and protecting services provided to the public".

He said: "North Yorkshire Police and our partners from the wider public and volunteer sectors, including the City of York Council and Safer York Partnership, are dedicated to improving the quality of life for local communities through the suppression of criminal activity and anti-social behaviour.

"To achieve success in this area there has to be a truly integrated multi-agency approach and the investment in Council Neighbourhood Enforcement Officers trained to have additional powers provided through the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme is a great example of this."