North Yorkshire's Chief Constable has announced plans to cut crime in Craven by five per cent over three years.

David Kenworthy told Craven District Council that, despite financial problems, the police wanted to attack crime in the area.

He had been invited to attend the full council meeting to answer questions about the effects of the forthcoming boundary changes. From April 1, Craven will be merged with the Harrogate and Richmond divisions to form a new policing area.

Mr Kenworthy first spoke of the reasons for the boundary changes which would see Skipton lose its control room and senior management moved elsewhere. He said: "Fundamentally it's about money. It's about the survival of North Yorkshire Police and the survival of policing in this area."

Mr Kenworthy said there was an estimated shortfall of £3 million in this financial year, £4 million in the next and £7 million in the year after that.

He had produced a corporate plan to set goals for the next three years. It included reducing crime by five per cent, and tackling the problems caused by stress and sickness. He was trying to maintain the levels of policing, which was why some senior management had to go, and he hoped savings would come about with natural wastage such as retirement.

Mr Kenworthy said he understood people's worries about the loss of Skipton control room, but added the two new control rooms at York and Newby Wiske would be more efficient in keeping track of operations.

He said he was aware of some of the problems in Craven, particularly the frustrations people felt when reporting a Skipton incident and found they were speaking to someone in Harrogate. All these issues were to be addressed.

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