Policing and Crime Annual Report

2024-2025

Contents

Mayor’s Foreword. 3

Principles and Priorities for North Yorkshire. 6

Police and Crime Plan 2022-25 – Annual Progress Update Against Priorities 2024-25. 7

Communications and Media Team.. 20

Community Fund. 21

Commissioned Services. 22

Community Safety Funding – Non-Commissioned Services. 23

Governance and Assurance. 24

Performance. 26

Independent Scrutiny Panels. 27

Funding and Spending. 28

Contacts. 29

Mayor’s Foreword

Welcome to my first annual report for Policing and Crime which reflects on my first year as Mayor of York and North Yorkshire.

This annual report marks my first year in office and the final year of the previous Police and Crime Plan 2022–2025 which was prepared by the former Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. As your Mayor, I’ve worked alongside the police, partner agencies and my Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Jo Coles, to make progress towards our ambition to make York and North Yorkshire a safe place for all.

This year we have updated our branding and values to reflect the new structure of the Combined Authority and in March 2025 I launched a new Police and Crime Plan 2025-2029. I am incredibly proud of what has been achieved.

We have been successful in securing Home Office funding to tackle anti-social behaviour, violence against women and girls and neighbourhood crime. Several key projects have been delivered which include bystander training to improve the safety of women and girls, days of action and new technology targeting theft of vehicles in rural areas and retail crime in places like York, and installing over nearly 1,800 free video doorbells to residents across York and Scarborough to tackle anti-social behaviour. This investment has supported a range of projects that has made a real difference to our communities.

We have also seen the continued success of the Community Fund, putting money into the community that has been taken out of the hands of criminals. This has included funding to support projects like youth outreach work in Haxby and Wiggington, tackling street harassment across North Yorkshire, improving park lighting in Ripon and New Earswick. Alongside many more, over 2024/25 we have invested over £380,000 to help communities prevent crime and deal with the consequences of crime.

I am extremely proud of the progress that North Yorkshire Police (NYP) has made over the past twelve months which resulted in HMICFRS lifting their causes of concern within 12 months and the progress that continued to be made in such a short space of time. It was a positive report from the Inspectorate, which lays a solid foundation for NYP to become an “outstanding” Force.

This report sets out the different projects and services we have led on or contributed to over the past year. I look forward to the new projects which will be delivered moving forward as part of my new Police and Crime Plan.

I want the thank the residents of York and North Yorkshire for their support and for always engaging with my team and me honestly during my first year.

David Skaith

Mayor of York and North Yorkshire

Message from Jo Coles, Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime

The safety and wellbeing of the public is the most important duty for anyone in public life. What drives me every day is making sure that the public have the upmost confidence in their Police and Fire and Rescue Services, that they are working to the priorities set out in the plans, and that they are constantly striving to be the best they can be at protecting and serving the residents, businesses and visitors in York and North Yorkshire.

It was an honour to be asked to serve as Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime in York and North Yorkshire. Working alongside Mayor David Skaith, we have set out our vision that every community in York and North Yorkshire should be a safe place for all. Our Police and Crime Plan sets out the priorities that North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service should work towards to meet that overarching aim.

Over the past year, Police service have made great progress towards meeting the final year of priorities from the 2022-2025 Police and Crime Plan, introduced by the previous Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, and to begin meeting those of the 2025-2029 Plan introduced by Mayor David Skaith.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the team for their tireless work to support me in my role, the leadership and staff of North Yorkshire Police Service for their collaborative approach, and the public for their engagement in the important work of scrutinising and holding to account their public services.

Jo Coles

Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime

Principles and Prioritiesfor North Yorkshire

Police and Crime Plan 2022-25 – Annual Progress Update Against Priorities 2024-25

Priority 1

Actively engage with all communities to identify need and risk and to reassure

Outcome 1a

Public trust, confidence, and satisfaction in North Yorkshire Police, and in reporting crime and incidents, has increased.

Public trust and satisfaction improvement will only happen when working together with all services and partners and covers many areas of activity across York and North Yorkshire.

In November 2024, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) published the Crime Survey for England and Wales, Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW)  which measures the public perceptions of force areas and NYP is rated highest in the country in 4 areas* - having the confidence of its communities, treating the public with respect, doing a good or excellent job and understanding local concerns.

* Being based on small sample sizes, estimates from the CSEW are

less robust than national level estimates and should be treated with extreme caution.

The areas of improvement between April 2023 and April 2024 included:

· answering nearly 90% of 999 calls within 10 seconds

· a reduction in anti-social behaviour of 18.4%

· all crime down by 4.6%

· serious violent crime down by 5.8%

· personal robbery down by 26.5%

· theft of motor vehicles down by 14.8%

NYP are also arresting 5% more criminals than during the same period last year, and the charge rate is 4% higher than it was this time last year. As retail crime has increased, NYP has also had a detection rate for shoplifting offences is nearly 30% which is one of the highest rates in the country. Read the Chief Constable’s statement here: North Yorkshire Police rates highly in public perception | North Yorkshire Police

Following his election in May 2024 and the appointment of the Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime in July 2024, in October 2024, David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire and Jo Coles, Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime, asked for the public's help in setting the priorities for North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service. The Mayor consulted with communities, businesses, stakeholders and staff to develop plans which set out strategic direction and priorities for 2025-2029.

All priorities received support, but the following were identified as the main priorities for NYP over the next four years:

• Early intervention and prevention

• Protecting the public

• Working with partners

• Building stronger communities

The questionnaire was available online and on paper between the 8^th of October 2024 and the 18^th of November 2024, and 1,685 responses were received in total. The consultation report can be found here: Police+and+Crime+Plan+Consultation+Report.pdf

Of the 1,685 responses, 45 were received on behalf of organisations or businesses and 30 from employees of NYP. You can read the resulting Police and Crime Plan here: Police and Crime Plan 2025-2029 – Policing, Fire and Crime

The Complaints and Recognition Team (York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority)

Complaints about NYP are initially handled by the Customer Service Team at the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority (YNYCA) and North Yorkshire remains one of only two areas in the country to have adopted Model 3 in terms of complaint handling. Model 3 offers the opportunity to deal with complaints independently and impartially with no bias which helps to build trust and confidence in our communities.

In 2024/2025 the Customer Service Team received approximately 1,500 complaints and expressions of dissatisfaction. Approximately 70% of complaints were successfully resolved using a flexible, customer focused and effective approach, without the need to be escalated to Professional Standards Department (PSD) or the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) national body. For more serious complaints, the Customer Service Team continue to refer to NYP’s Professional Standards Department (PSD) to carry out a formal investigation.  An Independent Adjudicator (IA) continues to review the outcome of police complaints.

The latest HMICFRS Integrity Inspection report concluded NYP should improve the way it handles and investigates complaint cases to provide a better service to complainants and that delays in the initial handling of complaints by the Customer Service Team were impacting this. The Customer Service team’s resources and performance continue to be monitored with resources having been uplifted to meet demand.

YNYCA and NYP work closely to monitor performance and improve data that identifies themes and trends at early onset, working collectively to improve organisational learning and to share best practice. These benefits should be realised during the 2025/26 reporting period.

2020/2021	2021/2022	2022/2023	2023/24	2024/2025
1446	1326	1287	1439	1508

^{Source: Centurion}

Outcome 1b

North Yorkshire Police have a holistic understanding of need in all our communities.

Visitors to the Great Yorkshire Show in July 2024, were invited to meet the teams keeping residents safe and feeling safe in York and North Yorkshire. The stand featured an opportunity to meet Mayor David Skaith and Deputy Mayor, Jo Coles and find out more about their roles and the work of the Policing Fire and Crime Directorate. The joint stall, between the Police and Fire Service and Policing, Fire and Crime Directorate also included:

• VR Goggles – to experience road traffic collision as a passenger and the work that the emergency services do at the scene.
• Vehicles – police and fire bikes and the return of a special edition police John Deere tractor, kindly loaned by Ripon Farm Services.
• Fire safety for the home, farm and business.
• Road Safety Children’s Activity Table.
• Rural crime prevention advice for your home, your belongings, your vehicle and yourself.
• Horse riding Road Safety Advice

Retail crime has significantly increased across the country in the last few years and in November 2024, The Mayor and Deputy Mayor attended a Retail Crime Summit as part of a Respect for Shop workers Week. The summit was in collaboration with The Co-op Group and USDAW (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers), brought together Police and Crime Commissioners, Mayors and Deputy Mayors, retailers and other stakeholders. Dame Diana Johnson MP, Policing Minister, delivered a keynote speech on the Government’s plans to tackle retail crime, including a specific offence of assaulting a retail worker as well as other measures in the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill. This was the Minister’s first time addressing an event specifically on retail crime. USDAW - Respect Week Summit

In October 2024, NYP launched operations for keeping businesses safe. Activity in towns and cities throughout the area included: proactive visits to shops, supermarkets and out-of-town retail centres; drop-in sessions encouraging members of the public to sign up to North Yorkshire Community Messaging; and extra high-visibility patrols in busy shopping areas to deter criminals and provide reassurance.

Officers also actively promoted NYP’s new digital evidence management system. Since its launch in July of 2024, more than 460 accounts have signed up to the force’s NICE Investigate portal – of which 220 are local businesses. On top of that, many large national companies are also already members. The system is used to submit CCTV and other digital evidence into one place so that evidence no longer has to be acquired by making an appointment to collect a USB stick or DVD. In the first 3 months, the system had been used to upload nearly five thousand items. The outcome being reducing time spent for officers in collecting evidence, so they have more time to investigate the crimes.

Priority 2

Work jointly as a trusted partner to prevent harm and damage, intervene early and solve problems

Outcome 2a

North Yorkshire Police is a trusted and trusting partner, helping to drive a whole-system approach to improving outcomes.

Clear, Hold, Build (CHB) is an innovative framework, developed by the Home Office, to help police forces tackle serious and organised crime. It reclaims and rebuilds neighbourhoods affected by organised crime, makes areas safer and increases public confidence in the police and partner agencies.

In North Yorkshire, the first two Clear, Hold, Build projects were launched in March 2024 at:

· Clifton in York

· Barrowcliff in Scarborough

CHB is a place-based, 3-phase operational framework designed to simultaneously tackle the totality of Serious Organised Crime threats, including gangs, their business models and enabler’s, locally exploited vulnerabilities and highest harm hot spot areas. It provides forces with an integrated partnership approach that delivers tactical options in a systematic, proportionate and targeted way at each stage of CHB.

The aim is to empower the community’s own voice to galvanise local capabilities to ‘claim back’ communities blighted by these gangs and build longer-term resilience and confidence to tackle future threats. The CHB initiatives are governed through the Local District Tasking and Coordination Group meetings.

This has been highly successful across the country and was initially piloted in seven police forces and is now being used by 19 forces across 33 sites to date.

Throughout 2024, NYP, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, North Yorkshire Council, City of York Council, Probation Service Yorkshire and the Humber, and the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, worked with the YNYCA to produce a refreshed Strategic Needs Assessments and Strategy for York and North Yorkshire. 

The partnership also engaged with residents of York and North Yorkshire through their Serious Violence survey, which will run again in 2025, as a combined survey encompassing the specific priority of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). 

The new strategy retains the 5 over-arching priorities to address serious violence across York and North Yorkshire, taking a preventative public health approach and with a particular focus on York and Scarborough: 

• Awareness Raising and Public Perception 
• Children and Young people  
• Possession and Use of Weapons 
• Alcohol, Violence and Night-time Economy 
• Violence Against Women and Girls 

To address these priorities the Partnership continued to support eleven prevention and early intervention-oriented projects, through the Serious Violence Duty Prevention and Early Intervention Fund. 

Projects and interventions funded include Knife Drop Bins where 1,700 blades have been put in Harrogate’s bins and the town has seen a decrease in the number of weapon possession offences and Inspire Youth which across York and Harrogate has engaged with over 2,800 young people. More funded projects can be found here. Serious Violence Strategy for York and North Yorkshire

Outcome 2b

Primary prevention and early intervention is embedded into the culture of North Yorkshire Police as the way of working across everything they do.

In July 2024 NYP, supported by North Yorkshire Council and with pupils taking part, launched a summer campaign, Operation Traffic about the dangers posed to children outside schools. Police, schools and council work together

There were police road safety patrols at more than 20 primary and secondary schools in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon and Boroughbridge, as well as surrounding villages.

This joint response followed concerns from parents and the community about bad driving and illegal parking near schools. Officers were outside schools to take enforcement action against dangerous parking, illegal mobile phone use and speeding, as well as being on the lookout for other motoring offences. They worked with children from the schools, who got to keep an eye on traffic, sit in a police car and a competition to design a road safety sign.

Spotlight –Neighbourhood Policing Review

Neighbourhood policing is the bedrock of North Yorkshire Police, and spearheads the delivery of community engagement, evidence- based problem solving, and targeted activity. Over the course of this year, NYP undertook a comprehensive review of our neighbourhood policing delivery, including a community consultation which had 5500 responses received. Predominant responses came from online, via Facebook, X and Community Messaging and then remaining with face-to-face others. The Review:

1) Defined the tasks the public want Neighbourhood Teams to undertake and the demand they must meet.

2) Delivered an evidence-based scientific approach to the number of staff and officers that comprised those teams.

3) Refreshed the demand profile for Response Policing and implemented a clear abstraction policy.

NYP developed a business case that sets a clear direction to support delivery of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework - GOV.UK

For NY it means Neighbourhood policing in York and North Yorkshire is set for a major uplift, which will see that 32 new Police Constables and 20 new Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) will be recruited thanks to a £1,946,579 million investment secured in the first year of mayoralty from the Government. 

The funding, part of the Home Office’s Safer Streets Mission to deliver neighbourhood policing, will be used to strengthen visible policing across the region with a focus on tackling anti-social behaviour, reducing crime, and boosting public confidence.

Outcome 2c

North Yorkshire Police Officers, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), Public Safety Officers (PSOs) and staff have confidence in their capability to solve problems effectively.

In November 2024, an officer in NYP was awarded the ‘Innovation and Problem-Solving Award’ from the Chief Constable after recognising the value of a ‘Media Dog’ and being amongst the first dog handlers in the country to become trained and accredited as a Media Dog handler.

Media dogs are trained to locate devices such as SIM cards, USB sticks, mobile phones, hidden cameras and car keys. The officer immediately recognised the huge benefit these dogs would bring in the fight against cybercrime, sexual offences, and any incident where recovery of electronics was vital to obtain evidence for convictions. This has led to the dog’s assistance in numerous mutual aid requests across the country where the officer’s expertise has led to recovery of key evidence leading to convictions in a number of cases including, a murder, vehicle theft by an organised criminal gang and paedophiles.

The officer, in recent months, has become the national lead on the subject and is arranging national conferences for other forces to attend in order to progress the discipline and increase its reach and availability. This comes after NYP set up an initiative in 2023 to protect the welfare of its police dogs to ensure that the highest level of standards of animal health and welfare is maintained. As part of this scheme, independent visitors from various organisations will visit dog kennels on a planned or unannounced basis. NYP stations are also regularly visited by welfare dogs, which the Mayor met one of this year. 

NYP officers and their partners pictured here, including Police Dogs Skye, Chester, Barney, Ruby, Molly, Isla, Skye, Molly and Bobby, Aug 2023

Priority 3

Deliver the “Right People, Right Support” every time

Outcome 3a

North Yorkshire Police have the appropriate resources in the appropriate places to serve the needs of the public.

In Oct 2023, the office was awarded £700,000 towards home security upgrades and rural area equipment protection under the Government’s Safer Streets funding umbrella. The aim was to focus on Burglary and ASB occurrences and initiatives to reduce them. The PFCD started the project with the collation and distribution of home security upgrade packs to all homes, in 4 specific wards - Scarborough, Castle Ward, and York, Clifton, Guildhall and Westfield. The packs included home security advice leaflets, victim support information, security pens for marking possessions and information on the scheme and how to register for a free video doorbell. Around 2,500 residents, within York, North Yorkshire applied for a video doorbell and the project finished, with the last fittings being in February 2025. A total of 1,769were fitted.

In March 2025, the Mayor, Chief Constable and Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime (DMPFC) opened the new Victim’s Centre, Acer House, which is the new site for the Adult Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) and Child Sexual Assault Assessment Services in York and North Yorkshire. Victims of rape and sexual assault will receive immediate healthcare and a forensic medical examination if required at the Centre, to collect and document evidence.

The new centre also has two Video-Recorded Interview suites for North Yorkshire Police to take statements from vulnerable victims and witnesses of any crime, including children and young people. New Centre opens to support victims and vulnerable witnesses

The Mayor and the DMPFC have supported the overall investment of £3 million, to purchase the building and develop the facilities, increasing capacity fourfold, in replacement of the previous SARC and Interview Suite. The investment is also to support the SARC to achieve new national forensic accreditation. This accreditation is required to ensure the quality of forensic evidence secures the best possible chance of prosecution of sexual offences. Acer House Victims' Centre

Liberty Links provides mobile and outreach services to women in rural and other isolated communities throughout the Ryedale district via a specially converted van since August 2023. Various other services have also been jointly delivered from the van including Independent Domestic Abuse Services (IDAS), Substance Use Support and Mental Health staff to provide specialist support. 

Further additional funding was secured to purchase and convert a second ‘Liberty Links’ van, which was launched in Craven in February 2025. This van will reach out to people in Skipton, Bentham, Grassington and Settle. There is also allocated funding for two Outreach workers to continue to deliver this Liberty Links provision (including the new provision in Craven) until March 2026.

Liberty Links Craven: Bridging Support Gaps for Women in Rural Communities - St Giles

Outcome 3b

Vulnerable people and victims receive the most appropriate care according to their need.

In January 2025, The Youth Commission shared their findings with key decision-makers to improve young people’s experiences of mental health. Over the past few years, they have collected young people’s opinions and views about mental health through their Big Conversation workshops. Recently, they participated in a Mental Health Youth Independent Advisory Group session with North Yorkshire Police. During this session, the commission members learned about the challenges police face when responding to mental health incidents. They also explored the Right Care Right Person (RCRP) programme, launched in 2023, that ensures people experiencing a mental health crisis can access support from the most appropriate professionals, rather than the police.

Some of the Youth Commission members through, Leaders Unlocked North Yorkshire Youth Commission Members also took part in filming of a new ‘bitesize’ training video for NYP.

The video formed part of Victim Blaming Language Awareness training within NYP, which launched in December 2024.

This training focuses on how officers speak to some children and young people and how it may come across as victim blaming language. Sometimes it may not be obvious or intentional but it’s how its perceived by the person they are speaking to and that needs to change. This bitesize learning has two parts:

• Victim Blaming Language Awareness: to help North Yorkshire Police understand what this looks & sounds like to a child
• Barriers to Engagement: a young person's perception of a police officer

The training has and is being delivered through sergeants shift briefings to all officers within NYP.

Priority 4

Maximise efficiency to make the most effective use of all available resources

Outcome 4a

North Yorkshire is outstandingly effective and efficient.

NYP’s Chief Constable and former Commissioner signed up to the 7-force ‘Transparency in Supply Chains’ Statement in respect of procurement and commissioning in 2020. Modern Slavery Transparency in Supply Chains (TISC) Statement  in 2023 the Terms of Reference was refreshed through The Modern Slavery Partnership, which included governance and accountability arrangements, to ensure it supports effective identification and offer of support for victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.

The Partnership now produces quarterly reports to feedback to Community Safety Partnerships and has contributed content to Safeguarding Week 2024 and campaign for Anti-Slavery Day 2024. The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the national framework for identifying and referring victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support. The Single Competent Authority administers it, which is part of the Home Office. NYP are fully engaged in the NRM for both adults (with consent) who are referred to the national Single Competent Authority and for children (no consent required) who are discussed via a local multi agency panel, acting on behalf of the Single Competent Authority.

Outcome 4b

North Yorkshire Police provides increasingly integrated services, improving the efficiency of the systems of which it is part.

In March 2025, Mayor David Skaith was joined by partners and community members to open the newly refurbished joint police and fire station in Ripon. Opening of Ripon's new joint police and fire station

This follows a joint investment of £926,000 by North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service and North Yorkshire Police to improve engagement with the local community and provide a modern and accessible workspace for staff. For the local community, the station now has a comfortable and informal public room where they can discuss community issues with the police. The station now also includes an interview room which will remove the need for both police and public to travel to Harrogate.

The new facilities will increase the use of the station by police, which in turn will enable increased police visibility in the community. Other improvements to facilities, such as showers and kitchen areas, will be available to both police officers, PCSOs and fire fighters.

Creating this partnership working means a saving of £33,000 per year to occupy and use the Town Hall space, which was the previous arrangement.

Priority 5

Enhance positive culture, openness, integrity, and public trust

Outcome 5a

The public trust and have confidence in the integrity of North Yorkshire Police as an organisation and in its officers and staff.

As a result of Project Deployment, a £1m Home Office funded ‘Project Hotspot’, a policing initiative that aims to increase trust and confidence in policing, deter offending, and make people feel safer in the communities they live in. This additional funding has enabled NYP to boost the number of police officers on the streets, with high visibility police patrols targeting hotspots at key times in dedicated areas across York and North Yorkshire’s three commands.

Project Hotspot has seen positive outcomes for our communities, and it’s also built relationships between officers and staff within the force. Various departments have seen officers put themselves forward for overtime and have jointly come together for one combined team effort.

As well as the high visibility patrols, NYP have delivered a large radio campaign on commercial stations across the county to make people feel safer and encourage reporting and had various digital media messaging boards out and about to increase the force’s visibility.

* % crime figures calculated from comparison data taken

between 01 January – 31 December 2023 and 01 January – 31 December 2024

Outcome 5b

Inclusivity, diversity, and equality are at the heart of North Yorkshire Police's organisational culture and service delivery.

This year the final terms of reference for the Independent Ethics Advisory Board (IEAB) were adjusted to reflect a commitment from the Mayor, the DMPFC and NYP to operate within and embed an ethical culture in their organisations. A culture where integrity, impartiality, transparency and public service are at the core of decision-making, actions and behaviours. In December 2024 discussions were held about the future of the IEAB with an updated approach into 2025. This approach included identifying how best to improve visibility and awareness of the IEAB by having attendance from chief officer teams and NYFRS.

The IEAB, which is part of the Assurance Framework, Assurance Framework PFC has now been established to provide guidance, support and challenge to the Mayor and Chief Constable as they seek to strengthen their organisational cultures. The IEAB is also there to resolve ethical dilemmas and provide advice where standards may not meet the ambition or where organisational blindness overlooks unethical practice.

Over 2024 there have been several topics considered by the Board; a key one that has been discussed at all meetings is the College of Policing’s new Code of Ethics. The Board recognised and discussed the importance of an effective Code of Ethics and how it forms a central part of policing’s approach to ethical behaviour. The Board was pleased to see a clear implementation plan for the new Code but emphasised the need to make it real and relevant to an individual’s role and the importance of local conversations to bring the Code to life. The Board is keen to monitor its implementation and to gauge how embedded the new Code of Ethics is in thinking, behaviours and decision making.

Outcome 5c

North Yorkshire Police is an employer of choice with a clear people focus that develops leadership, integrity, and inclusivity.

NYP introduced a new Police Race Action Plan (PRAP) team in 2024. The team was formed to implement the National PRAP, which was been developed in conjunction with the College of Policing and the National Policing Chiefs’ Council. The aim of the plan is to Improve policing for Black people within the police and the community.

The plan is built around four key pillars which looks to deliver a police service that is anti-racist and trusted by black and minority people, ensuring they feel:

· protected - we will deliver a police service that protects Black people from crime, and seeks justice for Black victims

· not over-policed – we will deliver a police service that is fair, respectful and equitable in its actions towards Black people

· involved – we will deliver a police service that routinely involves Black people in its governance

· represented – we will deliver a police service that is representative of Black people, and supports its Black officers, staff and volunteers

The main objective of the team is to bring a cultural change within the organisation and go further than not tolerating racism to being actively anti-racist.

To mark Black History Month in October 2024, the team launched a pilot with 150 participants over three 1-day sessions. This was an opportunity to develop the programme with a key intent for the programme being to provide communities with trust and confidence. To ensure that NYP officers and staff have received specialist training and are well equipped with the necessary knowledge to carry out their roles. This is not the usual approach to 'training' and was immersive and fully interactive.

Positive Action and PRAP strategies have been key to keeping the projects impact focussed, with an officer recently seeing an opportunity to develop ethnic minority female officers, not necessarily in policing skills but in self-esteem, focus and goal setting. This meant providing these officers with the opportunity to really understand what holds them back and has pushed them into an arena of psychological safety they have not previously been in.

The Policing, Fire and Crime Directorate set up an Independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board (ISOB) in March 2025 to provide transparency, scrutiny and oversight of the work of the Police Race Action Plan Team. The ISOB will be the connection between this work and the public they serve and ensuring that we are all striving for the best possible outcomes for all the people of North Yorkshire.

Spotlight – Violence Against Women and Girls Summit

On 25^th November 2024 over 100 strategic leaders, policy and decision makers from Local Government, Health, Police, Fire and both national and local specialist support organisations, attended a Summit to address violence against women and girls.

Held on White Ribbon Day, a global awareness campaign to end male violence against women and girls, the event engaged a regionwide cohort of organisations to inform a refresh of the current Violence Against Women and Girl’s strategy for York and North Yorkshire. The Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime, Jo Coles, is leading the strategy refresh, which aims to publish in 2025. Violence Against Women and Girls summit in Harrogate

The speakers joining Jo Coles at the summit included Laura Pulleyn, Managing Director of the Ford Family Foundation. Laura spoke about her direct lived experience of domestic abuse as well as the opportunities missed that could have helped her leave her relationship earlier.

Sarah Hill, CEO of IDAS, outlined the history and current issues faced by women in York and North Yorkshire and called for a more collaborative approach to ending violence against women and girls. The summit heard how public awareness of domestic and sexual abuse has changed over time and how vital support services have evolved as a result. Delegates took part in key strategic discussions, helping to inform future strategies and considered how they can more effectively work together to deliver these.

Communications and Media Team

10 - Religious Groups Engagement Including: Monthly York Mosque visits These include the York Mosque Community Kitchen Harrogate Synagogue York Shabbat Service Ramadan event at HQ Iftar at York Mosque Visiting the Holocaust Centre North

33 - Other types of Engagement Including: International Woman’s Day events Neurodiversity Celebration week events Whitby Supermarket engagement Masham key stakeholders’ engagement Broadacres Engagement Stephen Lawrence day events York Youth Justice engagement Millthorpe High Engagement Kirby Hill Primary engagement Taste of Diversity engagement NYP Staff network day York Pride Whole Systems Approach conference Harrogate Grammer School engagement NYP Cultural Awareness Programme NYP Cultural Influencers engagement APCC Holding to account workshop Police Treatment Centre Engagement Woman of Whitby engagement Suzy Lamplugh Trust engagement Liberty Links engagement EDI Conference DMPFC with Community Security Trust Code of Ethics conference Cuppa Connect Inspire Youth  Youth Commission Time to talk tour Community Action Day Community Fund event Osbaldwick Hall Opening

10- Community Shows Including: Great Yorkshire Show York Mela Ordinary Leaders Conference Stephen Lawrence Day Conference East Regional Vetting Symposium Halo Project Premier Red Flags Show

Community Fund

Launched in May 2013, The Community Fund is specifically for local organisations, groups or individuals who need money to help fund a new community safety project or scheme. The Community Fund now incorporates the Police Property Fund. Each year, North Yorkshire Police seizes property as part of criminal investigations or confiscated property by order of court. Where property remains unclaimed the Police (Disposal of Property) Regulations 1975 enable auctioning to raise funds for community and voluntary initiatives – particularly projects which have a positive impact on reducing crime and disorder at a local level.  North Yorkshire Police’s Chief Constable and the Policing, Fire & Crime Directorate have identified an additional £25,000.00 for the Community Fund annual budget to support smaller, community-based projects using the proceeds. Financial Information · 2024/25 - £386,122.43 was awarded to 37 projects. Links to all projects funded can be found here: Community Fund projects 2024/25 - York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority – Policing, Fire and Crime Team Community Fund Project Examples 2024-2025 · Chocolate & Co – 1:1 support & counselling - Awarded £12,441.00 Chocolate and Co offers paid work and volunteering opportunities to those facing barriers due to addiction or having a criminal record. Since opening the cafe in September, 17 beneficiaries have been supported. Funding will support project lead and outreach worker for one year, together with activity, support and intervention costs to support people from the marginalised groups with varied and tailored support to the individual need. Demand is needed as project already providing limited support for people in crisis situations. Project will continue to work with NYP and partners to support a joined-up approach.

· Trauma-specific interventions for adult survivors of sexual violence and abuse including CSA - Awarded £20,000.00 Funding will enable existing Policing, Fire and Crime Directorate commissioned counselling service, Survive, to deliver up to 20 weeks trauma therapy – sometimes incorporating Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), to 28 adult survivors of sexual violence and abuse with complex PTSD who have already accessed 10 weeks of counselling but need additional trauma-specific intervention/s to cope and recover from what happened. Survival’s 10-week counselling programme focuses on containing, stabilising and regulating emotions and managing anxiety and flashbacks in the ‘here and now’. · On Your Bike -Wensleydale Bike Club - Awarded £5,000.00 This project works jointly with North Yorkshire Council Virtual School to receive referrals for engagement with specific young people who are at risk of offending or antisocial behaviour in the Richmondshire, Hambleton, and Harrogate. This is designed to be an early prevention and deter from offending programme. The project is aimed at young people that are care experienced over the age of 10.  There is the capacity for 10 young people. Project is aiming to develop/continue a positive interest that can be an alternative to antisocial behaviour but also be positive for both physical and mental health and lead onto future career options. A programme of sessions will be delivered throughout 2025 aiming at developing young people’s cycling skills, maintenance skills, volunteering opportunities and supporting/leading other young people. · York Health and Arts MELA Eimaan Culture and Community Services – Awarded - £2,500.00 Funding will support infrastructure costs at the multicultural celebration, performing arts and other activities event, that also aims to raise awareness. Event will involve NYP and NYFRS this year and link back to the Hate Crime Partnership in York.

Commissioned Services

The Commissioning and Partnerships team started the year with a budget of £7.5m. Actual spend in 2024/25 was £7.2m.

The Commissioning & Partnerships budget Includes recurring ring-fenced national grant funding, locally allocated budgets, joint commissioning budgets and annual income generation.

The vast majority of the Commissioning & Partnerships budget is spent on services provided by third parties. A small proportion is spent on in-house service delivery (Supporting Victims Team).

Wherever possible the work of the Commissioning & Partnerships team is collaborative with local partners, pooling of funding, and co-commissioning services to maximise outcomes and impact for individuals.

Financial Information

In 2024/25 our 20 core commissioned services received over 52,000 referrals and worked directly with almost 23,000 individuals.

We have 28 key commissioned services.

· 12 for Victims - To support cope and recovery after crime

· 10 for Offenders or those at risk of offending – To address root causes and change their behaviour

· 3 for Vulnerable People – To protect and ensure better outcomes

· 3 Community Safety and Engagement – To enable partners and communities to address issues and improve safety

Details of all commissioned services can be found here: Commissioned services - York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority – Policing, Fire and Crime Team

Supporting Victims is a telephone-based service providing support for anyone affected by crime in North Yorkshire and York, whether reported to the Police or not.

Supporting Victims in North Yorkshire is open Monday – Friday, 9am to 5pm and can be called on: 01609 643100.

This includes victims, bereaved relatives, those under 18 with consent, parents, or guardians of victims under 18 and members of staff where a business has been a victim of crime.

Supporting Victims is also the Independent Hate Crime Reporting Centre for victims (whether reported to the police or not):

· Website: supportingvictims.org

· Email for victims: help@supportingvictims.org

· Secure email for agencies:

supportingvictims@northyorkshire.police.uk

· To report a hate crime: Hate Crime | Supporting Victims | North Yorkshire

· To find services available to you in North Yorkshire: Victim Support Services in North Yorkshire

Community Safety Funding – Non-Commissioned Services

The Community Safety and Serious Violence is available to any local community group or organisation in North Yorkshire or City of York. The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire is committed to an evidence-based approach to investing in initiatives at a local level that address Community Safety and Serious Violence issues, which aim to reduce Anti-Social Behaviour and Crime and achieve positive outcomes for individuals and communities. Projects/initiatives must be sustainable, and outcome focused to address (re)-offending, (re)-victimisation and Community Safety / Serious Violence priorities through prevention, early intervention and diversion. Financial Information · 2024/25 - £103,778.00 was awarded to 7 projects. A list of all projects funded can be found here: Community Safety Serious Violence Fund 2024/25 Community Safety Fund Example Projects: · Stepping Up, North Yorkshire Sport - Awarded £30,000.00 Stepping Up supports early intervention to divert children and young people who have not yet entered the criminal justice system but are potentially at risk of doing so. The project will support young people aged 7-14, with a focus on the transformational transition from primary to secondary school as a key stepping stone. Project will work in communities to target areas of concern and positively impact on local communities and its residents. Young people referred will be supported through mentoring from an Athlete Mentor; a sporting champion who has achieved highly in their sport with a story to tell and parallels to draw on to relate to a young people and their journey to success.  Young people will be identified for the project through collaboration with education, community safety, statutory and voluntary services and North Yorkshire Police. It will enable the project to refine work to focus on targeted communities, including those in the Clear Hold Build areas, responding to insight and need supporting local priorities.

·  Missing - Christina Gabbitas Writing Ltd – Awarded £30,000.00 The project will build on the success of existing collaboration with North Yorkshire Police (NYP). ‘Missing’ will continue the themes explored in previous resources, “No More Knives” and “Trapped in County Lines,” and will be presented in a comic strip format that will be adapted into an animation. Missing will draw significantly from real-life experiences and events, established through a valuable network of partners, across law enforcement, education, support agencies and charities which will provide material to create the narrative of the story. The new story will be used to specifically target high-risk areas of North Yorkshire and York, identified through joint working with NYP and partners, using an evidence-based approach and aiming to engage individuals who may be overlooked by existing services. · Knife Drop Bin Roll-Out - Awarded £15,151.52 The Knife Bin is an existing 12-month pilot project currently being delivered within Harrogate. The funding is to extend the initiative across York & North Yorkshire, to expand the targeted audience and reduce knife crime on a larger scale. Following the successful response from the current knife bin after receiving 453 in total since its installation in January, there is evidentially a requirement for knife bins to be widely accessible in more areas. The Knife Drop Bin project aims to serve as a method of primary prevention and early intervention by reducing injuries and violence associated with knife related incidents and crime. It allows members of the public to properly dispose of knives, bladed articles, or sharp tools in a safe and anonymous way. The project will be delivered by Community Safety Hubs and North Yorkshire Police within their localities, and they will be responsible for finding a suitable location, carrying out community engagement/consultation and promotion, as well as the maintenance and emptying of the bin once installed. Knife bin rollout takes place in York & North Yorkshire

Governance and Assurance

The Policing, Fire and Crime Directorate (PFCD) Assurance Framework Assurance Framework - York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority – Policing, Fire and Crime Team ensures that we are continually monitoring and assessing delivery of outcomes which are set out in the Police and Crime Plan, and the Fire and Rescue Plan.

Whilst the PFCD regularly seeks assurance from the services, we will also scrutinise them to ensure that we can effectively and formally evidence that positive progress and outcomes are being achieved.

We monitor the police and fire service in a range of ways which are detailed below.

Online Public Meetings	Bi-monthly, Five per year for each service (Break in August and December). At this meeting, the Chief Constable is held to account in their delivery of the Police, and Crime Plan and the Chief Fire Officer is held to account for delivery of the priorities in the Fire and Rescue Plan through implementation of the Service’s Community Risk Management Plan. Police complaints are monitored, and lessons learnt. Fire and Rescue complaints are monitored, and lessons learnt.
Executive Board (Monthly) (Changed to Strategic Oversight Board in April 2025)	Monthly formal governance meeting between the Mayor/DMPFC, Chief Constable/Chief Fire Officer to ensure proper governance of the services and the PFCD. This takes place through open, constructive debate of their respective statutory duties and the efficiency and effectiveness of their delivery against the Police and Crime Plan and Fire and Rescue Plan.
Chief Catchups	Closed briefings which enable dialogue and discussion monthly. This is an opportunity for the Mayor/DMPFC to discuss elements of the Police and Crime Plan delivery, and the Fire and Rescue Plan delivery based on themes and receive updates on current issues and operational matters.
Independent audit committee	The Audit Committee provides independent scrutiny on the adequacy of the corporate governance and risk management arrangements in place. It advises according to good governance principles and proper practices.
Joint independent audit committee	The Joint Independent Audit Committee (JIAC) provides independent scrutiny on the adequacy of the corporate governance and risk management arrangements in place. It jointly advises the Mayor/DMPFC and Chief Constable, according to good governance principles and proper practices.
Scrutiny Panels	Scrutiny Panels allow members of the public to hold NYP to account via review of incidents, policing powers, and tactics. Panel observations, feedback and recommendations facilitate continuous learning, improvement of police services and identification of best practice.
Community Review Group	The community review groups will assess and provide feedback on areas which the scrutiny panels review. This includes, identifying good practice and areas for learning, making referrals and recommendations.
Independent Ethics advisory board	The Panel will provide independent and effective challenge and assurance around integrity, standards and ethics of decision-making in policing and fire.
Independent custody visitors	Independent Custody Visitors are members of the local community who visit police stations unannounced to check on the welfare of people in police custody. Independent Custody Visitors - York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority – Policing, Fire and Crime Team
Violence against women and girls’ strategic governance board.	6-monthly Joint Violence Against Women and Girls Strategic Governance Board meetings, chaired by the DMPFC to monitor overall progress against our joint violence against women and girls' strategic objectives and provide greater transparency and accountability to increase public confidence in how we are improving the overall safety of women and girls.
Frequent interactions	Informal interactions between the services and PFCD staff. This enables and encourages spontaneous face-to-face discussions between Chief Officers, Senior PFCD staff, who may receive: · Updates on significant issues · Notification of significant/critical incidents PFCD staff will also conduct site visits across North Yorkshire and York.
Complemented by	Bespoke briefings from Chief Constable/Chief Fire Officer on significant or sensitive issues. · Senior PFCD staff attending key meetings within the services (e.g., HMICFRS* Governance Board, Gold Groups, Risk and Assurance Boards, Performance boards, etc.) · PFCD staff conducting further checks and audits. · Routine liaison between Senior PFCD staff Senior Staff/Officers. · Feedback from Independent Custody Visitors and Appropriate Adults. · Regular meetings with public bodies and Inspectorates (e.g., HMICFRS). · Independent review of complaints.

To underpin improvements in the services, so that they can be the best they can at protecting us and keeping us safe and feeling safe, we utilise the frameworks set out by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to support our scrutiny. For example, we will use questions that HMICFRS use to establish how the services are performing and improving outcomes.

We will evaluate what the Public tell us in our trust and confidence surveys and through information we receive into our office. At our Delivery and Assurance Board we will regularly assess our performance against our own PFCD Organisational Activity Plan, which can be found here: Public Delivery Plan 2025/26 - York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority – Policing, Fire and Crime Team Additionally, the Mayor/DMPFC conducts several consultations with the Public and partners throughout the year. We will review reports from external inspections such as HMICFRS and monitor the services delivery against any action plans developed because of these inspections.

Live streamed, Online Public Meetings (OPMs) are one of the ways the Mayor/DMPFC holds the Police Chief Constable to account for the service to the public. The Service is required to demonstrate the quality of the service in different areas and its progress against the Police and Crime Plan.

This year's police OPM assurance presentations included a detailed look into Serious and Organised Crime, Hidden Crime, Rural and Wildlife Crime, Force Control Room and Hidden Harms in Rural Areas and can be found here: Y&NY Online Public Meetings

Performance

The PFCD and NYP are committed to providing a high-quality service to the Public. To ensure that we hold them to account on this performance is reviewed in several ways.

• Policing, Fire and Crime Directorate Website: We publish NYP’s ’s performance report dashboard on the Mayor/Deputy Mayor website located here: Performance dashboard - Police - York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority – Policing, Fire and Crime Team

• National Policing Website: The National Policing Website provides information about Police performance across England and Wales. This information includes crime statistics, data on how quickly the Police respond to calls, and information about the Force's use of resources: NYP | Police.uk (www.police.uk)

• Online Public Meetings: The Mayor/DMPFC holds regular online public meetings where members of the public can ask questions about the Force's performance. These meetings are held every other month and are streamed live on the Mayor/DMPFC website: Online Public Meeting - York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority – Policing, Fire and Crime Team

• His Majesty’s Inspectorate for Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services Inspections (HMICFRS): We welcome regular inspections from the Inspectorate, because the reports are an independent and rigorous assessment which the Mayor/DMPFC will use to inform the level of scrutiny required to ensure NYP is aspiring towards becoming an outstanding service. The results of these inspections and our response can be found here: HMICFRS Inspections - York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority – Policing, Fire and Crime Team

Independent Scrutiny Panels

The Mayor has a statutory duty to hold the Chief Constable to account for the operation of NYP. The Mayor has delegated some of these powers to the DMPFC. The Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime does that within a broad governance framework that includes feedback from external bodies, including volunteers in schemes such as the Independent Custody Visitor Scheme and other scrutiny panels.

During 2024/2025, we undertook to complete a review of all scrutiny activity in order to ensure that this activity was fit for purpose, met the needs of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor in terms of their plans/vision for scrutiny and ultimately, that all scrutiny activity was able to contribute to building public trust and confidence in policing throughout the community of York and North Yorkshire.

As a result of this review, we revised our scrutiny panel framework, and we set up and now hold four scrutiny panels across key areas of policing which include members of the York and North Yorkshire community (volunteers) along with stakeholders and partners. Each panel meets quarterly with summary findings being reported to the YNYCA Independent Ethics Advisory Board. Scrutiny panels - York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority

• Community Scrutiny Panel

The purpose of this panel is to review public interactions with North Yorkshire Police, which are of interest to the local community and where feedback from the Panel will help achieve improvements within local policing. Through the scrutiny of police powers and conduct, the Panel’s work will help improve transparency, accountability and better understanding of local policing. Along with helping to build public trust and confidence in policing.

• Custody Detention Scrutiny Panel

The purpose of this panel is to review public interactions with North Yorkshire Police within the custody environment which are of interest to the local community and where feedback from the Panel will help achieve improvements within local policing. Through the scrutiny of police powers and conduct within custody, the Panel’s work will help improve transparency, accountability and better understanding of local policing within the custody environment specifically. Along with helping to build public trust and confidence in policing.

• Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Scrutiny Panel (RASSO Panel)

The purpose of this panel is to scrutinise those areas of interest to the local community where feedback from the Panel will help achieve improvements within local policing specifically, the scrutiny of No Further Action decisions, where the Panel’s work will help improve transparency, accountability and better understanding of local policing in terms of RASSO cases and help to build public trust and confidence in policing.

• Domestic Abuse Scrutiny Panel

The purpose of this panel is to scrutinise those areas of interest to the local community where feedback from the Panel will help achieve improvements within local policing specifically the scrutiny of how NYP investigate domestic abuse, where the Panel’s work will help improve transparency, accountability and better understanding of local policing in terms of domestic abuse cases and help to build public trust and confidence in policing.

Funding and Spending

Financial Position

In 2024/25 the overall underspend after the agreed reserves transfers was £75k, this has been transferred to Earmarked Reserves to support Partnership and Commissioning work in line with the priorities of the Mayor’s new Police and Crime Plan.

The overall Force position net of ‘Force’ Income was an overspend of £313k (0.15% of their budget) which was lower than the overspend that was reported during the year. This continues a trend of good overall financial performance from the previous year, and while there are still areas for development and improvement, the outturn does not create any additional challenges as we move into 2025/26.

This overspend by the Force was however absorbed within the overall Policing budget and resulted in a small underspend for the financial year of £75k against a revised budget of almost £228m.

Contacts

(Page to be put in by CA)