YORK'S council leader said today that local residents could not be expected to "pay twice for law enforcement".

Coun Steve Galloway was reacting to comments made by North Yorkshire's Chief Constable, Della Cannings, at a public meeting in the city.

Ms Cannings called on residents, City of York Council and other community groups to play a full role in fighting crime.

She said she could not "neglect" other areas to bring more resources to York, where more than 40 per cent of crime in the force's area occured.

Ms Cannings said: "It's not just about policing resources, it's about a mix and match of other agencies as well."

She called on the city council to invest more money in battling illegal activity, and said that council tax money could be used to help bolster defences against crime.

But Coun Galloway said he doubted that there was a council in the country that has done more than York to fight crime, and that the local authority was now facing serious financial pressures.

He said: "The York community now needs the full support of the Chief Constable in ensuring that the huge increase in police tax levels, seen over the last couple of years, continues to be translated into effective local street-level policing."

As reported in yesterday's Evening Press, Ms Cannings came under pressure at Tuesday's York meeting to switch more police resources to the city, while residents also urged her to ensure that cash increases for her force meant more results on the streets.

But Ms Cannings said she was "between a rock and a hard place" and that the "lion's share" of resources already went to the York and Selby area.

She asked residents to support an increase of at least 34p a week on an average household to sustain and further improve the police service.

But she added that there were additional opportunities to invest more money in more community support officers, longer police station opening times and extra work to reduce casualties on the roads.

Updated: 11:07 Thursday, December 18, 2003