NORTH Yorkshire Police lost 58 officer roles in just six months, according to Home Office figures.

Between March 2017 and September 2017 the number of officers employed by the force fell by 4.2 per cent - the largest reduction of any police force in the country.

Councillor Ashley Mason, vice chairman of North Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel and Liberal Democrat councillor for Dringhouses and Woodthorpe, said there is "huge underinvestment" from central government for the force. He is calling on City of York councillors to demand more resources for police so that they can “protect residents".

He said: “I think in terms of neighbourhood policing people have noticed a lack of visibility and of being able to access local officers. It’s that grassroots policing where you find out what’s going on in an area that has been diluted and I think that’s what people miss. The Police and Crime Commissioner needs to be lobbying for more money from central government and to raise the profile of North Yorkshire. York needs more investment to deliver the standard that residents expect and rely on.”

As part of a motion submitted ahead of a full council meeting on Thursday, Cllr Mason said that police have suffered real-term cuts of £1.27 million after inflation because their budget has been frozen. And that violent crime in York and North Yorkshire rose by 10 per cent and total recorded crime by five per cent in 2016-17. The motion calls for Police and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan to ensure that police and fire services are “funded properly in order to do their jobs effectively” and request extra resources for neighbourhood policing teams so they can “strengthen relationships” with communities.

The Police and Crime Commissioner was approached for a comment. But speaking about a fall in frontline officers in May, Mrs Mulligan said there is a “lot more to policing than just police numbers".

READ MORE: Frontline North Yorkshire Police numbers fall by almost 15 per cent

'There is a lot more to policing than just police numbers'