THE cells at Selby Police Station will no longer be used to hold people in custody.

North Yorkshire Police has said that following an operational review, it is to close its custody facility at Selby police station on October 27.

Following the closure, arresting officers in Selby will take suspects to York and hand them to custody staff there for processing – a task that can take several hours – so that they can return to policing duties in their local area.

Paul Kennedy, assistant chief constable at North Yorkshire Police, said: “We have done our research, and we know this makes good operational sense. On average, Selby custody dealt with just one person a day last year, as the vast majority of arrested people – 86 per cent – are already taken to the custody facility at York. So whilst the closure of custody may sound dramatic, in fact there will be very little actual change to the way we carry out policing. The important thing to keep in mind is that we are as committed as ever to keeping a strong front-line service on the ground in Selby.”

North Yorkshire Police said accordingly it has put more resources into community policing in the area, with the creation of a new neighbourhood sergeant role based at Eggborough. In addition to community duties, Sergeant Kevin Brighton will focus on tackling rural and cross-border crime, which is a particular issue in the Selby district.