NORTH Yorkshire's new top cop will be asked to consider putting up speed cameras in York.

City of York Council leader Steve Galloway said the issue would be on the agenda for their first meeting.

The Press told yesterday how the county's police force has named Grahame Maxwell, who is currently Deputy Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, as the new chief constable when Della Cannings retires in May.

Mr Galloway said: "We are delighted to welcome Mr Maxwell to the county and the city and we are looking forward to working with him.

"There are a lot of issues to be addressed. He may, for example, have a different opinion on the use of speed cameras at accident black spots to his predecessor and I'm sure that, and increasing the police presence on our streets, will be on the agenda for our first meeting."

Mark Botham, chairman of the North Yorkshire branch of the Police Federation, also welcomed the new chief constable.

He said: "We look forward to meeting the new chief constable formally and engaging with him and working with him in the future."

Mr Maxwell said policing ran in his family. His sister is a serving officer and his father and brother-in-law were also policemen before they retired.

As reported in The Press yesterday, Mr Maxwell said he was "delighted" to join a force with a "fine reputation" and that the role was the pinnacle of his career.

He said his top priority would be to make North Yorkshire Police the leading force in the whole of Britain in terms of neighbourhood policing.

But he said he didn't want to change things too quickly, and would first carry out a "capability and capacity" review.

He added: "I want to see us putting people first in terms of what we do, both within the force and the communities we are policing."

Della Cannings announced her retirement due to ill health in January after more than four years at the helm of North Yorkshire Police. Her contract had been due to expire in October.

She said she was retiring due to a "critical life-long illness" and would not return to work before her official retirement date - which is on May 16. Negotiations are continuing as to when Mr Maxwell will start.

Della speaks out

CHIEF Constable Della Cannings has revealed her ideas about how to improve policing in North Yorkshire.

In an interview with a national newspaper, she said: "Everyone in uniform, whether a traffic warden or a firefighter, should be a one-stop shop, passing on information."

She would also like to see economies of scale in public services through sharing backroom functions and has ideas about technological improvements Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Phil Willis believes she has much still to offer policing.

He said: "She's a highly effective operator. It would be a huge waste if she just took up fishing."

She defended her record as chief constable and said she had come under criticism because she is "outspoken".

She said: "Some of us who are more outspoken are more prone to criticism. There may be a gender issue here. People know me by my first name, as it is relatively unusual, so it becomes more personal.'' Ms Cannings came under fire throughout her time at North Yorkshire Police, most notably, when it was revealed that a shower installed at her office at Newby Wiske cost £23,000.