THOUSANDS of York residents are set to benefit from a community police initiative launched today.

Every ward in the city will now have a dedicated police officer to help find solutions for its long-term crime issues.

The team - consisting of three sergeants and 20 constables - will be headed by Chief Inspector Howard Harding.

"We have carried out a thorough review of the way we police the City of York and we believe that these changes will significantly improve the service we can provide," he said.

The changes bring police boundaries into line with the new political ward boundaries that come into effect in May.

Dedicated officers will be known as ward managers.

"We want local people to know who their ward manager is in the same way that they know who their local councillor is," Mr Harding said.

"Our aim is to gather intelligence from the local community and to work to tackle long term problems, including crime issues and others such as antisocial behaviour."

The team will soon be sharing their premises at Clifford Street police station with Safer York Partnership, the city's crime and disorder reduction partnership.

Jane Mowat, who heads the partnership, said: "We are fortunate in already having very well established and effective working relationships with North Yorkshire Police, however, working in the same location will inevitably speed up the passage of information as we will be learning of difficulties and problems as they occur.

"I see this as being a great opportunity for a genuinely joined-up approach to crime and disorder issues."

Mr Harding added: "Many of the issues we aim to tackle are not solely problems for the police, other agencies and organisations also have a role to play.

"York is already a safe place to live, and we want to work in partnership with anyone who can help us reduce crime and improve the quality of life for the city's residents."

Updated: 14:24 Monday, April 07, 2003