I WAS disappointed to see Councillors Thomas and Waudby's remarks about the police response to events in Skelton, particularly after a productive meeting in February in which we hoped a new partnership had been formed to address the youth issues in the village (June 27).

Skelton is part of the North Local Area Policing area of York, which is policed from Clifton Moor.

The councillors may be interested to note that crime in Skelton has fallen by 23 per cent between April 1 and June 23 compared with the same period last year. This speaks of good policing, not ignoring the village.

In the same period Skelton recorded only 25 incidents which were reported to police, not all of which were crimes or related matters. Compare this with more than 3,700 incidents for the York area.

The point I want to make is that the expectations of the councillors in the area have to be realistic. The police have a duty to service the whole city and surrounding area and the statistics above tell a story which would be welcome almost anywhere but, it seems, not with Skelton's representatives.

The Crime and Disorder Act places a duty on local authorities and other agencies to join in the partnership with the police to beat crime and the fear of crime.

Councillor Waudby states: "They have got to do something about it." With crime figures decreasing in the village, it is evident what the police are doing.

The question that should be posed is what is being done to provide facilities and prevention measures which will solve the problems permanently?

Chief Supt Gary Barnett,

Central Area Commander,

North Yorkshire Police,

Fulford Road, York.

...THANK you for printing the article combining the contents of my e-mail and very valid comments made by Coun Mark Waudby.

You will notice the replies given by the police spokesperson are the same as normal - they are not getting reports.

The whole point of making a stand at the meeting was to put this fact straight: they are getting reports consistently and frequently - apart, of course, from the reports where people have given up waiting for the call centre to answer.

The police need all the help they can get, their resources are very limited, but we are now getting to a stage where public confidence is waning because of the lack of response by the police.

We do have a good police force. The officers in the North LAP area are excellent, but even their confidence must now be suffering after all the criticism that is levelled at them.

Phill Thomas,

Councillor,

Skelton Parish Council,

Brecksfields, York.

...IN response to your articles regarding vandalism in Skelton, I was outraged by the response of the police.

Two evenings ago, my brother was bombarded by water bombs on his way to the village shop. We notified the police and they said they would contact the local police service, and, the operator added, that they would probably have given up by now anyway.

I am outraged because the police have pointed the blame at Skelton residents for not reporting incidents. Yet when we do report them, we get responses like the one we had the other night.

The lack of interest from the police force and their half-hearted efforts to combat crime have brought havoc to my village. Residents have begun to realise that the only way that peace can be restored in Skelton is by taking the law into their own hands.

I find this outrageous when the police force should be preventing crime.

Phil Marley,

Moorlands Road,

Skelton, York.

...IN response to the comments of Chief Inspector Andy Bell in the Evening Press (June 27), I should like to state that the reason many Skelton residents do not phone the police is because when they have in the past, they have little, or no response, to their calls.

While I accept that police resources are stretched, there is no reason why persistent causes of concern such as those reported at Skelton should not be attended to. Residents will only have faith in the police if they are seen to respond to the information given.

Coun Mark Waudby,

Rawcliffe and Skelton ward,

St Mark's Grove,

Rawcliffe, York.

Updated: 10:10 Saturday, June 30, 2001