FEWER police officers are getting out on the streets more, forcing down crime and keeping the public happy in North Yorkshire, according to a new national report.

In East Yorkshire the force has welcomed their steadily increasing performance, even though the area has the highest level of recorded crime per 1,000 population.

Figures published today in the fourth annual Audit Commission performance indicators paint a rosy picture of policing in North Yorkshire with the county topping one national league table and coming a close second in another, despite have less cash to spend.

Officers in North Yorkshire have the best figures in the country for responding to incidents requiring immediate response, with 97 per cent of calls answered in the target time of 15 minutes for urban areas and 20 minutes for rural areas.

The Audit Commission places special significance on the amount of time bobbies spend on the beat and the new figures for the year 1996/7 show North Yorkshire second in the league table at 72 per cent.

This figure is despite the fact that the force has one of the lowest number of officers available per 1,000 population.

However, the 1,300 men and women of the force have managed to force crimes per 1,000 people down by nine per cent since 1993/4, even though spending has fallen in real terms - one of only six forces where cash levels have fallen.

One cause for concern is the fact that not one of the county's 30 Police Authority buildings has access for, and is usable by, disabled people.

The relationship between levels of funding and performance has been highlighted by the Audit Commission and North Yorkshire is one force that has done particularly well despite a squeeze on resources - an example from which other forces can learn, it says.

Andrew Foster, controller of the Audit Commission, said: "Whilst a good force can always use extra funding to deliver measurable improvements for the public, clearly more money does not always buy better policing. Therefore, police forces must remain accountable for their decisions and explain how increased spending will benefit the communities they serve."

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said: "This vindicates everything we have said that the officers in the force are doing an outstanding job with some of the worst resources in the country."

In East Yorkshire, despite no increase in funding levels, officers have managed to improve their times for answering 999 calls, but the amount of officers' time spent in public has remained static.

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