POLICE have been out in force at York races.

Specially trained officers were out talking to members of the public as part of Project Servator or 'unpredictable policing' which launched in North Yorkshire five years ago.

The force spoke to people on the first day of the Dante Festival at Knavesmire yesterday (May 11).

York Press:

The Dante Festival at York Racecourse returns after a two-year absence and runs until Friday (May 13).

Last year’s event was held behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Prize money over the three days is £1.35 million, with every prize worth £20,000 or more; a six-figure increase from 2019.

A police spokesman said: "Our key message is that everyone has an important role to play by reporting anything that doesn’t look or feel right.

"You’ll never get into trouble for reporting a genuine concern and we’ll always take your report seriously.

"If you see something suspicious, please tell a police officer or call 101.

"Alternatively you can call the confidential Anti Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321. If it's an emergency, always dial 999."

Police say the scheme is a mix of "unpredictable and highly visible" deployments, plain clothes work, and work with businesses, community organisations and the public, and the scheme has since been adopted by other forces around the country.

Deployments can pop up anywhere, any time, in any weather, and include highly visible policing supported by a range of resources that can include CCTV, armed police officers, police dogs, automatic number plate recognition, mounted police, plain clothed officers and air support - including drones.