THE police get their fair share of criticism – not least, recently, in Rotherham.

Such scandals have the power to shake our faith in authority and in the forces of law and order.

So it is good to be reminded that, at their best, our police officers can be extraordinary.

Those honoured at an police awards ceremony in Newby Wiske last week really were among the best of the best.

York control room operator Jason Stacey talked on the telephone for more than three hours to a desperate woman who had been reported missing and was threatening to take her own life. She was eventually found by officers and taken to safety.

Easingwold PC Mark Atkinson responded to a report that a man had threatened to commit suicide. He arrived to find the man had hanged himself. PC Atkinson cut him down, and gave him CPR until he started breathing again.

York special constable Amanda Popely and four firearms officers, meanwhile, responded when a man in his 50s stabbed his 81-year-old father in the chest. They arrested the suspect, and performed life-saving first aid on the elderly victim.

All of these heroes bring real credit on the North Yorkshire force. More than that, they help restore our faith in law and order, and our belief that we really do still have some of the best police in the world.