Commissioner cuts £172,000 from police dogs budget

North Yorkshire Police, Cleveland Police and Durham Constabulary are to merge their police dog sections to create a single integrated service from summer 2016.

it is claimed that the move “will increase police coverage in rural areas, reduce overall costs by more than three million pounds over the next five years, and enable a substantial 24-hour dog unit to be to retained across the three Forces”.

Police dog

Police dogs carry out a wide range of duties to support police operations, including tracking people, chasing down criminals, finding explosives, cash, weapons or drugs, “passive” drug identification, keeping public order and supporting firearms officers.  Many of these tasks require highly specialised training, which means that, at the moment, each Force only has a limited number of police dogs with these skills.

Cleveland Police and Durham Constabulary embarked on a shared dog unit earlier this year and hope to build on this success through the further collaboration with North Yorkshire. Police dogs and their handlers from the three forces will all be trained in the same way and will adopt the same tactical approaches.  This will give each force access to more police dogs per shift, as well as greater access to specialist police dogs to cover particular types of operations.

In North Yorkshire, dogs live with their handlers in different locations across the whole county.

To support them better, operational bases will be set up in Harrogate, York Fulford Road, Northallerton/Thirsk and East Coast/Ryedale.

These, together with bases in Durham and Cleveland, will mean that more dogs are deployable to the north of the county, improving the service to some of North Yorkshire’s most remote rural areas, as well as covering urban “hot spots” more effectively.

As part of the move, dog handlers in North Yorkshire will fall in line with their counterparts by working 12-hour shifts, a change from their current variable pattern with shorter shifts.

Mike Stubbs of North Yorkshire’s Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said it had “serious concerns about the move to 12 hour shifts”.

He said: “North Yorkshire is a very different environment to Cleveland or Durham – our dog handlers have to cover a massive area.

“Is it right they should be expected to do a blue light emergency run on demanding roads towards the end of a 12 hour shift, having already driven many miles across the county in the course of their shift?

“There are laws and limits for commercial drivers to protect against the effects of driver fatigue which the police enforce. It defies common sense that those principles are being ignored for drivers of police vehicles.”

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Police appeal after man suffers facial injuries in Holgate assault

York police are appealing for information after a man was assaulted outside the One Stop Shop on Acomb Road in York.

The attack happened on Sunday 25 October 2015 at around 4.25pm when a vulnerable 60-year-old man was verbally abused before being assaulted by another man or youth outside the shop.

The victim attended York District Hospital for treatment to serious facial injuries.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the attack, in particular two men who approached the scene of the incident shortly after the assault.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for Detective Constable Laura Wood in York Serious Crime Team, or email laura.wood@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Please quote reference number 12150189922 when passing on information.

Another chance to join York’s Big Community Energy Switch ahead of winter

City of York Council is reminding residents who missed out on the initial Big Community Switch that they can join 18,000 other people nationally who have considered switching energy suppliers and saving money on their bills.

Big community switch

 

In the most recent round of the Big Community Switch, run by the council’s partner iChoosr, 230 York residents could save on average £215 from their gas and electricity bills if they switch to the new tariff secured by the scheme. To help other residents consider taking advantage of the new tariffs on offer, the scheme’s deadline has been extended to residents who join the switch before 24 November

Jacqui Warren, Sustainability Officer, said: “With the clocks changing and the nights drawing in many people are starting to use more energy, therefore the Big Community Switch is a great way for people to see if they can reduce their energy bill, with residents saving on average £215 during this switch.”

To enable even more people to take advantage of the recent tariffs secured by the scheme, registration has been re-opened until 24 November.

How the big community switch works
1. Anyone who pays a household energy bill can register for free at https://www.york.gov.uk/switchingenergy, including pre payment meter customers and those without gas. Registration is easy – you just need a recent fuel bill or annual statement.

2. The council’s switching partner iChoosr will hold an ‘auction day’ and invite energy companies to offer their best prices.

3. The cheapest tariff wins! People who have registered will receive an email with details of the tariff secured by the scheme.

4. Residents will have until a 24 November 2015 to register and decide to accept the offer or not (please note that anyone registering off-line will have until 17 November). There is no obligation to accept and no fees or charges. If residents choose not to take up the offer, they can always register again in future schemes.

For more information and help on joining the Big community Energy Switch visit https://www.york.gov.uk/switchingenergy or watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx_fph_9NeE
For help making your home warmer through energy efficiency measures visit https://www.york.gov.uk/info/20097/private_landlords_and_tenants/1507/better_homes_york

Future of Piccadilly to be decided today

York Council to slow pace of redevelopment

Piccadilly Oct 2015

The pace at which  the regeneration of the Piccadilly area of York – now dubbed the “Southern Gateway” – will take place will be decided by the Council’s Executive today. A report from Council officials talks of establishing a blueprint for the general development of the area.

As we said three months ago, the brownfield site offers a major opportunity to provide additional housing in what has become a very popular destination for new home owners.  Even high value properties in Hungate and St Leonards Place are selling like hot cakes.

It is estimated that at least 450 new homes could be provided on the Piccadilly site.

Today’s report offers little that is new.  “Partners” will be sought to redevelop the old airspeed factory, a project manager will be appointed and taxpayers will be asked to spend £185,000 on further developing the plans.

Potholes on Castle car park

Potholes on Castle car park

Officials are recommending that the Council work closely with developers who have already worked up plans for some of the individual sites in the area.

The Council itself owns the busiest car park (Castle). The car park generates over £2 million a year in revenue – although it currently is in very poor condition.  The Council also runs Castle Mills and the St Georges Field car parks.

One option to be considered is an underground replacement.

It is also known that there is a strong preference to make major changes to Ryedale House which could become a major residential development.

The Council seems set on slowing down (again) the pace of redevelopment.

Three months ago they had reached the stage where possible land uses had been identified.

These clearly did not fit in with the ambitions of the private landowners. Hence the decision to pull back..

At this rate we doubt whether there will be any major development in the area much before the end of the decade.

What’s on: Spooky halloween stories and crafts

Fri 30 Oct : 2.30 – 3.30pm at Clifton Library

halloween_177x177
Dare you come along to our Spooky storytime? Listen to ghostly stories
make creepy crafts, carve a pumpkin, do the ghoul hunt and much more.

Stories and Crafts for 5-12 year olds.

Please bring along a pumpkin to carve.
There will be a ghostly ghoul hunt around the library and various spooky crafts to make.
Please feel free to come dressed up in your  Halloween costume

Tickets booked via Clifton Library 01904 552662  clifton@exploreyork.org.uk

Fri 30 Oct: 4.00 – 5.30pm at Haxby Library

haxby-halloween

Creepy stories across the city today, crafts to make and give, colour ins, fancy dress essential to this one.

Watch out for the famous Haxby spiders … they breed them large and furry (but very friendly and they love books)!

Tickets and more details from Haxby library, 01904 552660,haxby@exploreyork.org.uk