Whether we are elderly residents living alone, parents with young families, or farmers living in a remote area, we all want to feel secure in our homes and neighbourhood. I was especially pleased to see that North Yorkshire has one of the lowest crime rates in the country. At Northallerton Police Station I met with Commander Sarah Sanderson and Sergeant Nick Hill to find out how their team keeps us all safe and what more we can do to ensure crime keeps falling.
Across the constituency the North Yorkshire police force operates from 7 different stations: Northallerton, Stokesley, Leyburn, Catterick, Hawes and Richmond. The force has been very successful: despite North Yorkshire having the lowest crime rate in England in 2010, they have succeeded in reducing crime by a further 17% since. A number of the crimes that do still occur are preventable - simple things like not leaving keys in an unattended vehicle or securing our homes properly would help reduce crime further.
Our police force also spends time on cross-border crime, using technology like Automatic Number Plate Recognition to catch criminals coming into North Yorkshire from afar. They have a successful Farm Watch patrol program where volunteers work with the police force to protect our rural communities.
Tackling crime has been a priority for this Government. Since taking office, crime has fallen by 23%, taking it to the lowest level since records began back in 1981. Violent crime is down, robbery is down - and knife and firearm crime is down too.
The real change has been to get police officers doing the job they do best: out from behind desks filling in bureaucratic paperwork and on to the frontline, protecting our local communities.