Twelve police officers will be cut from the division that covers Keighley, Bingley and Shipley but the officer in charge says she is doing her best to keep bobbies on the beat.

Chief Superintendent Angela Williams, now in charge of the Airedale and North Bradford Police division, has pledged to safeguard frontline policing despite the cuts, instead giving the chop to ‘back office’ workers and those nearing retirement.

She has said the cuts, required due to falling budgets within West Yorkshire Police, would not interfere with her pledge to tackle anti-social behaviour and drug dealing in the area.

Speaking at the latest meeting of Keighley Town Council, she said: “My priority is to save the frontline. I may be restructuring some of my neighbourhood policing teams by taking out some management levels.

“I’m looking at reducing some supervisory posts and backroom office functions to protect more junior officers who are out there on the ground.

“This year I'm looking at losing 12 officers in my division, but this is across the whole of the division so they won’t all be from Keighley. We're looking at retiring some officers who are on restricted duties.”

Taking on the role in October, the new chief highlighted drug-dealing in Keighley as one of the particular problems she hoped to tackle. One councillor believes that if these promises are kept, people should see little or no change to front line policing.

Coun Simon Cooke (Con, Bingley Rural) said: “As long as the police do what they say and protect neighbourhood policing, then I don’t think the cuts would be noticed in the short term. The information we’ve been given is that the neighbourhood policing team, the police officers people see every day, are going to be protected.

“Police need to get out and talk to people, knock on doors and make sure people know they are there. At the moment I say keep up the good work – just make sure you protect the front line, that is where it matters.”

Supt Williams has over 21 years of service with the force, including in Bradford and Keighley. Talking about her division, she said: “We’ve got the highest level of public confidence in West Yorkshire and we have low rates of anti-social behaviour compared to other locations.”

She also praised work to convert the town’s former police station into a civic centre and police museum.