A YORK MP has called cuts to North Yorkshire Police "staggering", and said she wants the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner to deliver on her promise to return officer numbers to levels last seen in 2014.

Following last week's announcement that crime has risen in North Yorkshire by 13 per cent - five per cent higher than the national average - and the declaration by both Julia Mulligan and Deputy Chief Constable Phil Cain that the majority of the increase was due to better recording, Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, said she believed the loss of 21,500 police officers, 16,000 police staff and 6,000 Police Community Support Officers around the country since 2010 was a contributing factor to the national rise in crime, but the higher than average increase in North Yorkshire "will shock residents".

Ms Maskell said: "Despite promises from North Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner to rebuild the local force, she has still failed to recruit the police our communities demand to deter people from committing crime.

"At the same time, the Government has cut North Yorkshire Police’s budget by a staggering £25,157,640 since 2010 and seen a net fall in 136 police officers. Having spent a night out with the police, I witnessed the pressure they are under, including supporting many vulnerable people where other services had failed to do so due to the cuts they have experienced."

City of York Councillor and vice-chair of the North Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel, Ashley Mason, echoed Ms Maskell's concerns.

Cllr Mason said: "The latest ONS figures are a cause for concern and many communities here in York are worried by the real-term cuts that have been sustained by North Yorkshire Police.

"Our local policing teams carry out outstanding work on a day-to-day basis, but they must supported in what they do and the bottom line is; they require more funding. The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner must do all she can, including lobbying her own Government, to secure additional resources for our local police."

Mrs Mulligan said the 13 per cent rise in crime was expected, and although it would create "alarming headlines", there had only been "a small genuine increase in crime".

She said: "I will be seeking to ensure the force is as efficient and effective as it can be, as well as properly funded, so the maximum possible resources are directed to the frontline to protect and support communities across North Yorkshire and York with more visible, local policing."