HOW can North Yorkshire Police justify axing its underwater search unit (UWSU) (May 5)?

They are disbanding a highly skilled trained unit consisting of one sergeant and six constables who have undergone extensive training.

When not deployed in diving duties they were assigned to work as a professional support team alongside their North Yorkshire colleagues.

Northumbria Constabulary is taking over this onerous task, but they also cover Cleveland and Durham police force area as well as their own - and now North Yorkshire.

How can the same standard of service be delivered?

Northumbria UWSU could not provide the same quick response. On many occasions they would need to travel more than a 100 miles to a location in North Yorkshire, not a satisfactory situation, when force policy dictates that no diving is to take place during the hours of darkness.

Try telling this to the distraught parents of a child who has fallen into the River Ouse and is missing. Try telling them that we have not got enough daylight left to search because it will take five hours to mobilise a team from Northumbria, if such a team is available. But don't worry, we will carry out a search tomorrow.

I presume a North Yorkshire senior officer will now have to decide if it is cost effective before requesting Northumbria's help, therefore many searches for stolen property or evidence leading to other crimes such as burglary/robbery or sexual offences may not happen and the crime goes undetected.

North Yorkshire's Chief Constable Della Cannings defended spending £500,000 on cars for senior officers by saying they helped in the efficient delivery of round-the-clock policing.

If, as claimed, the USWU costs £100,000 a year, then the same saving could have been made by axing one senior officer and his luxury vehicle.

Name and address supplied.

Updated: 11:11 Wednesday, May 11, 2005