12:43pm Friday 21st March 2008
THE criticism voiced about a North Yorkshire Police scheme whereby parish councils contribute to policing costs in their area is understandable.
Nobody wants to pay twice for a service and that's clearly what some people feel is the situation in the area north of Ripon where an enterprising police team is making a pretty good job of getting local councils to stump up cash to pay for a patrol car's petrol.
The important point to note here is that nobody is suggesting that parishes that do not contribute will not be policed.
They will be served as well as any other rural area in the county.
But they will not benefit from the additional patrols made possible by the generous donation of a patrol vehicle by a local motor dealer and the contributions to running costs made by the participating parish councils.
The analogy of the parent teacher association helping to fund additional school activities or facilities seems an appropriate one here. Just as parents may decide that the provision made by the local education authority is not as good as they might wish and therefore take steps to supplement it, a parish council will make an assessment of the policing needs of its area and decide whether or not to augment it.
At least under this innovative scheme, rural areas do have the opportunity to improve the service. Under the usual arrangements, parish councils have little or no input into the way a county-wide force distributes resources.
By buying in the service it feels is necessary to provide the level of protection parishioners demand, they are making a difference without taking resources from elsewhere.
The counter-argument, that it gives the police an excuse to withdraw more officers from rural areas unless they are paid for, loses much of its power because, across most of rural Britain, it has already happened.
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