A POLICE and crime commissioner says the public should not be concerned about the fall in the number of officers on the street in the last decade.

As reported in The Press on Tuesday, the number of frontline officers - PCs, PCSOs and special constables - in North Yorkshire fell by almost 15 per cent between 2007 and 2017.

But Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire Julia Mulligan said there is a "lot more to policing than just police numbers”, and police time could be as valuable spent online as on the streets.

Mrs Mulligan said the use of the term ‘frontline’ focused on visible policing, rather than work done behind the scenes to tackle different types of crime, with crimes currently threatening residents and communities largely revolving around “abuse, online activity or organised crime”, and “in many of those cases, police staff investigators are often the best way to take those cases forward”.

She said: “The term ‘frontline’ isn’t helpful and often dismisses a large part of policing which actively supports victims, investigates crime and locks up the baddies. For example, police staff investigators have doubled in North Yorkshire in the last two years, up from around 25 to 50. The public may not immediately think of those staff members as ‘frontline’, but they absolutely are and play a key role in 21st century policing, sitting squarely alongside their police colleagues.

“My plea is to move the conversation onto police capacity, and more importantly, what our police officers are doing, rather than a fixation on numbers and numbers alone.

"The same is true of crime rates. Crime has been relatively stable in North Yorkshire compared to elsewhere, but it is the specific types of crime which is making policing harder and more complicated. A much greater proportion of crime nowadays requires serious investigation and work with partners, which just wasn’t the case even five years ago.”

Although the number of police staff within the force dropped between 2007 and 2017, Mrs Mulligan said the increase in police staff investigators meant more work could be done behind the scenes to protect the public.

She said: “Following that logic through would mean investing more taxpayers’ money into police staff rather than police officers, which would see police officer numbers come down. Instead of seeing this negatively, it could actually be a better way to make us all safer. However, whilst public focus remains resolutely on officer numbers, these arguments do not get fairly aired.

“We also need to think about where policing time is best spent, and whether in the 21st Century there is as much to be gained from walking a beat as there is patrolling Facebook in efforts to catch those grooming our children from the assumed safety of their bedrooms.

"Equally, we cannot dismiss the need for a visible police service or the value of public reassurance. The balance is hard to find, and we need a mature discussion to make sure policing in North Yorkshire is fit for the future.”

When the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner was created in 2012, Mrs Mulligan inherited 1,392 officers. Since then, the number of officers had remained relatively stable - the most recent figures showed 1,373 - but recruitment plans were ongoing to return them to 1,400, with 200 PCSOs.

Mrs Mulligan said: “In direct response to the question, officer numbers are lower than they were 10 years ago, which was about as high as they had ever been I understand.

“Despite difficult financial times, frontline numbers in North Yorkshire have been largely stable under my watch, so this is not about avoiding the argument, but it is about shifting the argument and ask the public to think more widely about what they want from their local police force. I invite The Press, and its readers, to engage with me in that mature debate.”

The Press also revealed an increase in the proportion of female officers within the force, and a rise in the number of female officers achieving promotions, which Mrs Mulligan welcomed.

She said: “I am also pleased to see a much better gender balance at North Yorkshire Police, as well as more women in higher ranks, not least a female Temporary Chief Constable.

“Whilst very good progress has been made in that regard, the same cannot be said of black and minority staff and officer recruitment. A lot of work has been done in recent months though and I am hopeful the number of diverse staff and officers increases in the near future.”

*Readers are welcome to email The Press with questions about policing in North Yorkshire on newsdesk@thepress.co.uk with the subject matter PCC Question, and we will put them to Mrs Mulligan at a future date.

*See tomorrow’s Press for the final part of our in-depth look at North Yorkshire Police.