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Exciting opportunities for police volunteers

North Yorkshire Police is looking for volunteers for a number of exciting opportunities across the county.

Police Support Volunteers are much valued members of the policing family who give up their free time to help the police keep North Yorkshire one of the safest places in the country.

They carry out various roles from ensuring our vehicles are equipped and ready for the road, to quality checking our interaction with victims of crime.

North Yorkshire Police has a strong history of volunteering with many committed people who go the extra mile to help the police protect the communities of North Yorkshire.

The force are looking for community-spirited people who have a few hours to spare each week and can assist them with a number of roles including vehicle checkers in York, drivers in the Thirsk area, a volunteer manager in the Scarborough area and a number of county-wide opportunities for people to carry out feedback surveys with victims of crime.

As part of the policing family, you will join a team of like-minded people who are committed to helping their local community as well as making new friends and getting an insight into the work of your local police service.

North Yorkshire Police’s Chief Officer for Citizens in Policing, Mike Maiden, who is also a volunteer, said: “Being a volunteer can be extremely rewarding and by joining the police service you will have a unique experience of volunteering.

“You will be supporting your local police force, and in turn, help members of the public who are often at their most vulnerable. Your support will allow officers and staff to concentrate on their priorities of providing a service to victims, preventing and detecting crime and bring offenders to justice.

“You will also get to meet some great people and be part of a committed team of people who provide significant benefits to the police service.”

Julia Mulligan, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, added: “This is a great way for people to support the work of the police and help in making people feel safe and be safe. Volunteers do a fantastic job and are an important part of the policing family. If you have some time and are looking for a new challenge, we would love to hear from you.”

Details of the role opportunities:
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Increased Funding to help local businesses hire apprentices

Small and Medium Sized businesses across York are being invited to apply for a grant to help them hire an apprentice and grow their business.

Following an announcement from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) businesses in York can now benefit from a local grant of up to £2,000 thanks to the LEP’s Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE). The aim of the grant is to support businesses and help them recruit young people, aged 16-24, into employment and help them start their career.

The new LEP Apprenticeship Grant replaces the national apprenticeship grant incentive for businesses in West Yorkshire and York as agreed in the first stage devolution agreement with government in March 2015. Funding for businesses will be available until 31 December.
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UPDATE Art Gallery to press ahead with plans to charge everyone £7-50 entry charge

50% discount on season ticket agreed for YorkCard holders

UPDATE: A trust spokesman has now said that “people with an existing York Card -including one bought today – would still be able to gain free admission to the Castle Museum and Yorkshire Museum tomorrow and until the card expired. Cards bought after today will not give the same benefits”.

A Press Release has confirmed that the YMT plans to charge residents £7.50 for entry to the Art Gallery from tomorrow, but they will offer all York Card holders 50% off the standard price of the annual “YMT Card”. That means that a YMT card will cost residents £11 (£10 with a direct debit)

Children under 16 continue to have free entry. There is also a discount (to £4) for some claimants*.

In doing so the YMT will be in breech of the terms of the lease they hold on the Art Gallery and Castle Museum.

In our view they would have been wiser to continue to offer YorkCard holders free entry at least until the Council had considered the matter further at their September meeting (see UPDATE above)

The YMT has not said whether it will make refunds to those YorkCard holders who had purchased season tickets before the latest discount was announced.

* Access tickets: up to 50% discount for visitors aged 17-24 or in receipt of Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance, Income–based Job seeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit or Income Support. Evidence may be required.

The York Council has not yet said when, or even if, it will commence legal proceedings to enforce the lease restriction

Cllr Nigel Ayre comments:

“It is surprising that the York Museums Trust has pushed on with its proposals. On Wednesday there was cross-party support for the charging plans to be halted ahead of further discussions taking place.

“However, I am pleased to see that following my decision last night the Trust has at least offered a 50% discount to York Card holders for the annual pass. This is a step in the right direction and an example of the further concessions we have been pushing for. It hopefully does give us a platform for further dialogue going forward.”

NB. The York Museums Trust is also seeking to appoint new Trustees. However intersted individuals only have until tomorrow (1st August) to submit their CVs

Art Gallery charges – decision in September

The Councils new more democratic decision makers decided last night that more information was needed before they could “clarify” the terms of its building lease to the York Museums Trust.

After an all party debate the responsible Executive member nodded through a proposal to defer the decision.

The YMT had planned to introduce admission charges at its new Art Gallery when it opens at the weekend. It is still able to do so, although the terms of the lease require it to provide free entry for York residents.

The Museums Trust will need to act promptly now to deal with the confusion as they are actively marketing an alternative (to the Councils Yorkcard) season ticket.

It is a shame that so far more formal records of meetings, which took place in the spring between the then Labour leadership of the Council and the Museums Trust, have not been published. Expectations on all sides might then have been clearer. Incredibly some Labour Councillors are now claiming to be opposed to charging even though they – together with Green Party Councillors – voted through the cuts in subsidy in March – the decision which prompted the YMT move.

The Council has little in the way of moral high ground to retreat to on the principle of charging. It charged for Art Gallery admission when it directly managed the facility up until the middle of the last decade (when the Council was also mostly under Labour control).

Charges have always been levied at the Castle Museum (£10) and Yorkshire Museum (£7-50p). There are no lease restrictions on the latter.

Children are entitled to free admission

As we have said previously, the Councils Executive member simply could not make a decision, on easing the restriction included in the lease, without being clear about the impact on the Trusts business plan and without a public debate about all the options available.

There is also the wider issue of public access to the plans and results of York’s burgeoning number of QUANGOS. Others (libraries, economic development) depend even more heavily than the YMT, on taxpayers subsidies to keep them afloat. None publish details of their management meetings.

That charging decision will now be made at an Executive meeting taking place in 24^th September

What might happen, if the Council and YMT are not able to agree a compromise, is a moot point.

If the Trust simply ignored the restrictive covenant clause, then the Council might ultimately terminate the lease. As the Council no longer has the capacity or expertise to run the gallery and museums, that could lead to their closure.

A legal wrangle about the enforceability of the lease clause could sap the resources of both organisations.

On the other hand, if the Trust demands money, to make up any shortfall in its income resulting from a decision to continue to allow YorkCard holders free admission, then the cash strapped Council would be unable to provide it.

Some compromise is required and quickly now.

Multi-agency approach will help drive down re-offending

Integrated Offender Management (IOM) is a multi-agency response between the Police, the Probation services and other agencies, to the crime and re-offending threats faced by local communities.

IOM pro-actively targets those who have already come to the attention of the Criminal Justice Service and are likely to re-offend, with an aim of improving the quality of life for communities in North Yorkshire.

To ensure the opportunities to target and effectively manage those offenders who repeatedly commit crime are maximised, North Yorkshire Police and Partners are driving a re-focus on IOM.

IOM manages Offenders identified as being of most concern locally, whether subject to statutory supervision by the National Probation Service or Community Rehabilitation Company, or managed on a voluntary basis where not subject to these formal arrangements.

In addition to using set qualifying criteria Police, Probation or any of the other partnership agencies can refer Offenders for adoption onto the scheme at any time.

Offenders are engaged at different levels across the partner agencies, dependent upon the level of threat they pose and their vulnerability.

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Hundreds of items of York property permanently protected from thieves

More than 600 bikes, tools and gadgets in York have been marked as part of an innovative new project to deter burglars and protect property.

Since the roll-out of four new ‘dot peen’ property marking machines three weeks ago, dozens of people have attended drop-in sessions across the city to get their valuables permanently marked.

Every year, police recover hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of stolen property from the hands of criminals, but all too often there is no way of identifying its rightful owners. Being able to trace the ownership of the property not only helps people get the property back, but it can also provide evidence that is vital in securing convictions.

Dot peen marking involves using a tungsten carbide-tipped pin to indent an object with dots to create a visible, permanent unique number. The unique number will be entered onto the national Immobilise property register database, vastly increasing the chances that it will be reunited with its owner if it is lost or stolen.

The dot peen machines have been funded by North Yorkshire Police, the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, and Safer York Partnership.

So far, officers have marked 497 garden and allotment tools, 165 cycles and 25 assorted gadgets such as cameras, mobile phones and laptops.

Drop-in sessions have been held at City of York Council’s West Offices, York District Hospital, community events across the city and the allotments at Low Moor, Bootham, Strensall, Howe Hill and Hempland Lane.
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Property marking machines help York police fight crime and reunite stolen property

Four new property marking machines will be in action across York from next week in a bid to deter thieves and protect property.

York Police have invested in the top-of-the-range “dot peen” property marking machines, and are offering the service free to residents.

The new machines in York can mark at a speed of two characters per second, to an accuracy of 0.006mm, and can be used on everything from steel and aluminium to plastic.

They have been funded by North Yorkshire Police, the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, and Safer York Partnership.

While other methods of property marking, such as UV marker pens or forensically-coded liquid, can also be very effective in reuniting property with its rightful owners, the visual deterrent of a permanently marked serial number alone could be enough to deter would-be thieves.

Inspector Lee Pointon, of York Police, said: “York is a very safe city, but we do know that over the summer holidays burglars will be on the look-out for empty homes and unattended outbuildings containing valuable property.

“Marking your property is one of the most effective ways to protect yourself from being a victim of crime. Criminals will see the permanent unique number, and know immediately that your property is too hot to handle. If the worst happened and you were targeted, marked property is far harder to sell on, and we are much more likely to be able to return it to you.”

Jane Mowat, Director of Safer York Partnership, said: “Safer York Partnership is pleased to support the purchase of additional Telesis property marking equipment as part of our ongoing work to tackle burglary. We cannot stress enough the importance of marking and registering property so that it can be returned to its rightful owner when stolen property is recovered by the police.”

Dot peen marking is suitable for everything from bikes and garden tools to PlayStations and laptop computers.

More than 80 York police officers, PCSOs and volunteer Special Constables are being trained to use the dot peen machines, and in the coming months residents will be invited to attend drop in sessions to get their property marked. Officers will also be working closely with City of York Council and local Neighbourhood Watch schemes to publicise the service.

For more information about property marking, visitwww.northyorkshire.police.uk/propertymarking. You can also install North Yorkshire Police’s free home security web app, BurglarProof, atburglarproof.nyp.mobi. And you can download our interactive home security iBook – just search for “Securing your home” on iTunes.

To find out when your next property marking event is taking place, follow your local York police team on Twitter at @snayorkcityeast,@snayorknorth or @snayorkwest. The service will be promoted on Twitter with the hashtag #whatisdotpeen

York police invite residents to observe stop and search in action

Police in North Yorkshire are giving people the opportunity to see stop and search powers in action from today.

Under the Stop and Search Lay Observer Scheme, members of the public can apply to accompany officers on patrol when they might deploy stop and search powers.

North Yorkshire Police officers carry out about 20 stop searches per day, and these powers are an effective policing tool to detect crime, recover property and arrest offenders. The force has adopted the Home Office Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme to increase transparency and further improve our use of these powers.

Chief Inspector Mark Grange, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “By introducing ‘lay observation’, a process of two-way learning can take place, bringing the police closer to the public.

“Under this scheme the police have the opportunity to demonstrate their use of stop and search, while members of the public will be provided with the opportunity to see stop and search in action, and provide feedback based on their observations.

“I would encourage anyone interested in observing stop and search in action to visit our website to find out more.”

Applicants will need to be voluntarily vetted prior to being approved to accompany an officer, and will need to be flexible regarding the hours they accompany an officer and the area where they patrol. A number of other restrictions apply, which are outlined on the application form.

To find out more about the use of stop and search by North Yorkshire Police, visit www.northyorkshire.police.uk/stopsearch. To apply online to join the Stop and Search Lay Observer Scheme, visit www.northyorkshire.police.uk/layobserver.

Young people wanted as police launch first cadet unit in York

North Yorkshire Police is recruiting young people for its first ever uniformed Volunteer Police Cadet Unit in York.

A pilot scheme is set to run for two years and is open to girls and boys aged 14 to 16 who live or study in or near York.

The scheme is being run in partnership with Askham Bryan College where cadet training sessions will take place on weekday evenings during school term.

Temporary Inspector Martin McLachlan who is leading the scheme, said: “This is a great opportunity for young people in the York area to do something different. The aim of the cadet scheme is to encourage a spirit of adventure, good citizenship and increase self-esteem and confidence. It will also help to promote a practical understanding of policing among young people and aims to inspire them to participate positively in their communities.

“It is open to anyone from any background, as long as they live or study in or near York. If the York pilot scheme is successful, it will pave the way for other units to open across North Yorkshire.

“It will be great fun and the cadets will meet new people and make new friends as well as learning skills for life. And, thanks to Askham Bryan College’s partnership with us, we will have great facilities in which to hold our cadet nights.”

The unit is set to open in September 2015 and after the first three months of initial training, cadets will take their oath at a passing out ceremony attended by family and friends.
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York residents face price hike for entry to museums and art gallery

A report to a leisure committee meeting taking place on 22^nd June confirms that residents will pay for admission to the Art Gallery, and local museums like Castle, in future.

The Museums Trust is launching its own YMT card which will cost £22 a year.

This will offer unlimited access to York Castle Museum, the Yorkshire Museum & Gardens and the newly refurbished York Art Gallery for a year. The YMT Card saves £5 compared to buying individual day tickets for the three YMT charging venues.

It is clear that, if the Council want free entry for York Card holders to these venues, they will have to increase their subsidy to the Trust.

The move by the Trust is being viewed as retaliation for the decision taken by the former Labour controlled Council to cut its grant from £1.6 million to £600,000 pa.

Admissions to the two museums have remained fairly steady over the last 3 years with between 162,000 and 170m000 visitors being recorded each year.

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