County has 100 fewer police staff

The deputy chief constable says frontline officers have not been cut

North Yorkshire has 100 fewer police officers than a year ago, figures obtained by the BBC have revealed.

As of Monday this week, the force employed 1,527 officers, or full-time equivalents, compared with 1,628 a year ago - a drop of about 6%.

The county's Police Federation claimed the reduction was putting the public and officers at risk.

But deputy chief constable Adam Briggs stressed that the cuts did not affect the force's frontline staff.

North Yorkshire Police have imposed a freeze on recruitment this year and said that would continue for a while but eventually officer numbers would brought to about 80 below their 2007 peak.

At the same time, the number of police support staff has fallen by 50.

'Crime falling'

Mr Briggs said: "There has been a reduction in the number of officers but not from the frontline.

"We have made considerable efficiencies over the last 12 months to improve the organisation and make it financially sustainable to make sure we are providing a service that is value for money.

"Let's remember that, while we have had reductions in staff, our crime has been going down year on year for the last four years."

The North Yorkshire Police Federation chairman Mark Botham said: "It puts the safety of the public and of our members at risk.

"The last time we reduced number, in 2001/2, we were approaching 50% of our operational staff being assaulted in any one year."

He conceded there were more officers in North Yorkshire than 10 years ago, but added there were also "significantly greater demands" now than there were then.