A NUMBER of North Yorkshire police officers will receive recognition this coming Friday (27 July) for their commitment to communities across the Yorkshire Dales.

They are all winners of the 2007 District Neighbourhood Police Officer of the Year Awards and as such will be attending an awards ceremony sponsored by BT to be held at Thorpe Underwood Hall near Boroughbridge on Friday.

Frome there, one of them will be selected as the North Yorkshire Neighbourhood Police Officer of the Year 2007 and will go on to represent the force at a national event in London in November.

Nominations for the awards, organised by North Yorkshire Police Authority, were invited from community groups, partner agencies and members of the public.

The four officers working in Yorkshire Dales communities are:

Harrogate district - Sgt Penny Taylor

Sgt Taylor is based with the Knaresborough and South Harrogate Neighbourhood team and has been a Police Officer for 13 years. Since joining the force from Durham Constabulary in July last year she has impressed colleagues and communities alike with her enthusiasm, commitment and problem solving skills.

She is credited with making a real difference to the quality of life for local people, especially those living in Starbeck where she formed a multi-agency problem solving group to tackle issues caused by young people ranging from stone throwing and anti-social behaviour to under-age drinking.

With her team carrying out regular high-visibility patrols, offenders have been identified and their activities curtailed, not simply by enforcement but through a variety of longer-term measures including Acceptable Behaviour Contracts and ASBO's for persistent offenders, whilst supporting the Council Youth Shelter initiative.

Craven district - Sgt Steve Scott

Sgt Scott has been based at Crosshills for the last 12 of his 26 year's service and is well established within the local community. He is recognised as being able to identify problems quickly and then deal with them whilst at the same time being reliable and approachable to both his colleagues and members of the public.

When tackling a problem of anti-social behaviour in Cowling he obtained the first Exclusion Order to be issued in North Yorkshire and has since showed similar initiative in dealing with and reducing persistent problems of anti-social behaviour across his area working in partnership with other agencies and the Community Safety Partnership.

He has established local police surgeries across the area for the benefit of the public and has also established a working initiative with staff at the local secondary school providing joint lunch-time patrols to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

Richmondshire district - Sgt Mick Griffiths

Sgt Griffiths has 28 years police service and is based in Richmond. He has responsibility for problem solving throughout the district working in conjunction with a variety of other agencies including the Community Safety Partnership, licensees and the military.

Much of his work centres on tackling crime and he has introduced a number of innovative initiatives. His "Make Richmond Vibrant not Violent" campaign saw a fall of 6 per cent in violent crime; he introduced Smartwater to the district to protect property against burglary and his crime prevention work has contributed to a 16 per cent fall in non-domestic burglary.

Sgt Griffiths has also contributed to road safety dealing effectively with complaints of speeding throughout the area by a combination of education, warning and enforcement to the satisfaction of local communities.

Sgt Griffiths' nomination was supported by local councillors, the military and members of the community.

Hambleton district - pc John Trueman

PC Trueman has completed 20 years' service and working in Northallerton he established an excellent working relationship with local shopkeepers and introduced a number of schemes to tackle town centre crime and disorder.

He has continued this level of commitment into his current role. When an area in Thirsk was identified as a problem for crime, anti-social behaviour and under-age drinking causing misery to local residents, PC Trueman set up meetings with local businesses, councillors and residents to find a solution.

He secured £35,000 of funding, and with the backing of the council transformed the area. Anti-social behaviour was reduced by 100 per cent and crime fell by 60 per cent. He is currently engaged on a similar project in Northallerton.

He was the Hambleton Community Police Officer of the Year in 2004.