IT'S official - police in North Yorkshire are "excellent" at tackling crime.

The national Police Performance Assessments - annual gradings for police forces - have been released by the Home Office, and show North Yorkshire rated "excellent" in two of the seven categories.

In another two the North Yorkshire force is rated as "good" and in the remaining three it is judged as "fair".

Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC) has also published the findings of in-depth reviews into force arrangements for neighbourhood policing, performance management and protecting vulnerable people.

North Yorkshire's chief constable, Grahame Maxwell, and North Yorkshire Police Authority welcomed the gradings, which showed that the force performed particularly well in the Tackling Crime category, graded as "excellent" compared with last year's "good".

The force also achieved an "excellent" in the Satisfaction and Fairness category, again an improvement from last year.

The force was graded "good" in the areas of Local Priorities, which addresses antisocial behaviour and criminal damage, and Protecting Vulnerable People - which looks at child abuse, domestic violence, public protection and missing people.

The force received a "fair" grade in the areas of Serious Crime and Public Protection, Resources and Efficiency and Implementation of Neighbourhood Policing.

Within each of the areas, individual components were also graded and the force was marked "excellent" for its efficiency savings, with total savings of three per cent against a target of six per cent.

Mr Maxwell said: "Our primary role is to tackle crime, and the excellent' grade we have gained in this area - which is a further improvement on last year - underlines our commitment to tackling the minority of criminals who persist in blighting our neighbourhoods.

"I was also delighted in our excellent' grade for customer satisfaction and fairness, which is a very positive endorsement that we're providing a quality service.

"This inspection was based on our performance in the previous financial year and we've already made substantial strides since then in further improving the service we provide.

"We're proud to be the safest county in England and are aiming to be the leading force for safer neighbourhoods in England and Wales.

"We will be working hard over the coming year to address the suggestions given in the report to further improve our service."

Police authority chairman Jane Kenyon said: "Overall, this is a pleasing report for North Yorkshire Police and Authority, detailing the progress that we have been able to make in a relatively short space of time."

But she said the assessments also highlighted areas for improvement. "Clearly, we have been aware for some time that Serious Crime and Public Protection - the so-called protective services - are in need of improvement, and we are working collaboratively, and in house, to do just that.

"Both the chief constable and the authority want to be excellent at Neighbourhood Policing. We are at fair at the moment, which means we have made a reasonable start, but there is much further to go."

Both reports will be considered at the authority's performance, audit and scrutiny board on October 22.

Meanwhile, in East Yorkshire the continued improvement of Humberside Police was also highlighted in the national Police Performance Assessments.

Six out of seven of the general areas of policing were judged as "good" or "fair", and the force was judged "excellent", "good" or "fair" in 30 out of 34 specific areas of policing, including the percentage of crimes it detects, the percentage of offenders brought to justice and frontline policing.