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14
Oct
North Yorkshire plans to expand rural scheme combining police, fire and ambulance roles
Plans to expand a scheme which brings together police, fire and ambulance service skills to improve public safety in rural communities are being explored across North Yorkshire.
Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime, Labour's Jo Coles, said she was keen to extend the Public Safety Service beyond the former Craven district, where four specially trained officers work alongside neighbourhood policing teams, provide fire safety advice and act as community first responders for the ambulance service.
The initiative is designed to improve emergency service coverage in remote communities where maintaining a regular police presence can be difficult.
Ms Coles said discussions were continuing between North Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and the ambulance service about extending the scheme to other parts of the county.
She said:
We have a small number of public safety officers in Craven, and we’re really keen to progress discussions between the fire and rescue service, police and ambulance service about expanding the scheme.
These officers combine the roles of on-call firefighter, PCSO and first responder, and they provide an incredibly important service in some of the more rural parts of the county.
In places such as Settle and Grassington, particularly in the west of the county, they are a really valuable resource for local communities.
Ms Coles said the model could help address gaps in visible policing across North Yorkshire’s vast rural areas.
She added:
At the moment, the scheme only operates in Craven, but we’re keen to explore expanding it into other parts of North Yorkshire where we know communities might otherwise struggle to have the same policing presence as more urban areas.
The more we can build on this model, the better. It provides on-call firefighter availability, a dedicated PCSO with valuable local knowledge, even if they aren’t full-time, and a first responder for the NHS.
Highlighting the importance of the role, Ms Coles recalled meeting a public safety officer in Grassington who had attended a cardiac emergency earlier the same day.
She said:
When I visited Grassington, the public safety officer had actually attended a heart attack emergency that very morning, before meeting me in the afternoon.
That really demonstrates how important these officers are, particularly in rural areas like ours, and why we need to build on the scheme.
The deputy mayor also revealed that discussions were taking place about whether the policing element of the combined roles could count towards the Government’s neighbourhood policing staffing figures.
She said:
We’re also keen to ensure that the PCSO element of these roles is counted towards our neighbourhood policing numbers reported to the Home Office.
Those discussions are ongoing.
The comments came during a meeting of the York and North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel, which included an update on staffing levels across North Yorkshire Police.
A report for the meeting stated that the force had 1,674 police officers and 125 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).
Of these, 136 police officers and approximately 112 PCSOs were assigned to neighbourhood policing teams.
North Yorkshire Police officers during a recent operation. Photo: NYP.
The force is also planning an additional 17 neighbourhood officer posts during 2026/27 under the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
According to the report, neighbourhood officers spent 88.4% of their time working within their communities during 2025/26.
It stated that neighbourhood policing capacity had improved through recruitment, reduced demands taking officers away from their usual duties and strengthened workforce planning.
However, the report also identifies ongoing staffing challenges, including comparatively high levels of long-term sickness absence and difficulties retaining experienced officers in specialist roles.
Approximately 246,822 working hours were lost to sickness absence during 2025/26, with psychological ill health accounting for 38.6% of the total hours lost.
Despite these pressures, the report says the force has maintained police officer numbers and increased the number of warranted officers working in neighbourhood policing teams.
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