THIS week we launch a campaign to avert the threat of the Craven division of North Yorkshire Police being scrapped as part of a review of the force's boundaries and structures.

We expect to be criticised for being premature, for spokesmen to point out that this is only a consultation exercise, that these are its early stages, blah, blah, blah.

However, this is one option that has to be nipped in the bud at a very early stage. And we urge our readers to protect their own interests and take action to preserve their level of service from the police.

Why the worry? Well reviews of local services always tend to mean one thing in this area. Closure. Look at our post offices, courthouses, gas and electric showrooms. All have disappeared.

Meanwhile it has been a pleasant duty to report the successes of our local policemen in combating crime. They have targeted known criminals and will tell you that their success is based on local intelligence. Note the word local. Not Harrogate-based, or York-based, or Northallerton-based but local based.

At a time when police forces are urged to get closer to their communities, North Yorkshire should rule out at an early stage the option of downgrading of Skipton as a division. Any merger would result in the loss of our superintendent and a return to the old days when being sent to work in Craven was seen as a punishment, a sure sign of the commanding officers' displeasure while other officers were left to deal with the 'real work' of Harrogate and York.

This is where our readers come in. We urge you to write to North Yorkshire Police at Newby Wiske, Northallerton, calling on them to retain Skipton as a division in any review of structure.

If sufficient numbers respond, then that will show the strength of feeling within this area and hopefully the Herald will be able to report a few months down the line that the Craven division is safe.

If Craven acts together we can head this threat off at the pass.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.