Preventing terrorism and serious disorder such as the Bradford riots are key targets for West Yorkshire Police in the coming year.

A report, outlining the West Yorkshire Policing Plan for 2004-5, said that the September 11 terrorist attacks, the general terrorism threat and previous outbreaks of public disorder in the county were a reminder that public safety and security could not be taken for granted.

Chief Constable Colin Cramphorn's report adds: "Preventing serious disorder and terrorism needs to be part of day to day policing and underpins everything West Yorkshire Police does."

It says West Yorkshire Police's Special Branch is committed to combating growing and newly identified threats, focusing on the county.

A comprehensive range of contingency plans has been formed to deal with various foreseeable terrorist incidents, however remote the risk, which is often reviewed.

Strategic exercises are regularly run with other police forces to plan responses to acts of terrorism.

West Yorkshire Police has a number of officers specially trained to deal with chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear incidents, backed up by five Police Support Units and 130 firearms officers.

High-profile armed patrols are now on duty on a daily basis at Leeds-Bradford Airport as a result of threat assessments.

The report points out that the Bradford riots three years ago demonstrated how quickly disorder could escalate and says such incidents often damage relations for many years.

In the next year the force will have at least two teams of fully-equipped specially-trained officers - known as the Chief Constable's reserve - available to respond quickly to outbreaks of disorder anywhere in West Yorkshire.

The reserve officers, when not responding to incidents, will be on high-visibility patrol, acting as a deterrent and adding to the uniform strength on the streets.

The terrorism and public disorder measures are part of 'keeping the peace,' one of three main priorities in the policing plan. The aims are to maintain order and keep the peace, reduce anti-social behaviour and disorder and improve quality of life, and increase public confidence and reduce the fear of crime.

Police have set a number of targets, including being able to respond to outbreaks of serious disorder in 15 minutes. They also want to increase the time officers spend on front-line duty and patrols by Police Community Support Officers.

The report adds: "Preserving the peace and maintaining law and order is fundamental to public safety and security and takes precedence over all other policing activity."

The policing plan was due to be approved at a special meeting of the West Yorkshire Police Authority in Wakefield today. It will then be submitted to the Home Secretary for his approval.