COMPLAINTS against police officers for rudeness, and neglect of duty have shot up by more than a fifth in North Yorkshire, according to new figures.

The number of complaints made against the county's police officers and staff rose by 21 per cent to 392 between April 1, 2005, and March 31, 2006, compared with 324 in the same period the previous year.

The number of allegations within those complaints went up from 631 to 730.

The York and Selby central area of the force received 35 per cent of the complaints, with 137.

Allegations of assault and excessive force dropped from 22 per cent to 12 per cent.

In a report to North Yorkshire Police Authority, Detective Chief Inspector Ian Lemon said only 17 complaints were substantiated in the last 12 months.

He said the low level of these complaints was a reflection of the work to increase awareness of professional standards among all employees through management teams and training. He said the average investigation time had fallen to 69 days, compared with 73 during the previous year.

Most complaints were about rudeness (20 per cent) or neglect of duty - which includes failing to properly investigate a crime or update a complainant about an outcome (27 per cent).

A total of 12 officers were given a superintendent's written warning, compared with 11 in the previous year.

Four of those were between January 1 and March 31, 2006. One officer was warned for insulting behaviour towards a member of the public, one for inappropriate behaviour on a training day, and two for inappropriate use of the email system.

A further 42 officers were given verbal warnings - compared to only 15 the year before.

Det Chief Insp Lemon said: "Verbal warnings are proving a useful procedure in ensuring that police officers and staff become aware of a personal failing or a lesson to be learned, which would not otherwise be considered serious enough to warrant formal investigation."

The report also stated that 283 letters of appreciation had been received from the public in the past year, a slight drop from 310 the year before.

Detective Chief Inspector Lemon said the force had been complimented by the chair of the Independent Police Complaints' Commission for good practice in dealing with complaints. It resolved a higher rate of complaints at a local level than any other force in the UK.

Updated: 09:18 Monday, April 17, 2006