SPENDING too much time on the internet, and inappropriately sending emails and accepting a fine for a fixed penalty notice - these are just some of the things for which police officers in North Yorkshire have had their wrists slapped.

The officers were all issued with superintendents' written warnings between October and December.

One was blasted for "an excessive period of time spent on the internet while on duty", one for using the staff email system inappropriately, another for accepting payment for a fixed penalty notice without using the official process, and one for abusive behaviour towards a colleague.

A further 12 officers were given verbal warnings for sending "inappropriate" messages and pictures over the force's email system.

The incidents were revealed in a report to the police authority's complaints committee.

But complaints against police from members of the public for excessive force, rudeness, and neglect of duty have dropped slightly in North Yorkshire for the first time in almost two years.

North Yorkshire Police recorded 84 complaints in the last three months of 2005, a slight drop from 89 in the same period in 2004. There were 144 allegations in those complaints, down from 155, which works out at 11 per 100 officers.

In the report, Detective Chief Inspector Ian Lemon said it was the first time since April 2004 that the force had not experienced a "significant" increase in the number of complaints.

Police authority chairman Jane Kenyon welcomed the drop, but said it was no reason to be complacent.

She said: "The public are clearly satisfied with the interaction with our police officers. This shows a high level of professionalism.

"There is no room for complacency, but this is great news and we will continue to monitor the situation to ensure it continues."

She said the drop in complaints could largely be put down to better interaction between officers and members of the public, brought about by an increase in the number of officers, but added that members of the public were encouraged to complain if they were dissatisfied.

There were 15 allegations of assault and excessive force, down from 17. A further 29 complaints were about officers being rude, down from 41. The biggest number of complaints was about "neglect of duty" - of the 36 complaints in this category 20 were about officers failing to properly investigate a reported crime, and 12 were about officers refusing to do something they had been asked to do. There were also four allegations of officers failing to update someone about the outcome of an incident.

Of the 144 complaints, 39 were in York, four were in Selby, 19 were in Hambleton and seven were in Ryedale.

There were 156 allegations resolved between October and December. Of those, 120 were resolved locally, 12 were found to be unsubstantiated, one resulted in a written warning to an officer and another was resolved with verbal advice.

North Yorkshire Police also received 55 letters of appreciation commending staff.

But "malfeasance" claims for wrongful arrest or imprisonment, assault, malicious prosecution or interference with property went up from 17 to 30.

Updated: 10:25 Monday, February 13, 2006