CRIME Commissioner Julia Mulligan is inviting residents’ questions ahead of an accountability meeting and wants people’s views on the police council tax precept.

A public accountability meeting is taking place on January 23 which will focus on the topic of reoffending but will also cover the policing of the fracking site at Kirby Misperton.

The meeting will be broadcast live online and questions will also be taken via Twitter as it progresses.

In addition, a consultation is running until January 28 to enable residents to have their say over how much they feel the police should be allocated in council tax bills.

The options put forward include freezing the current precept, increasing it by 1.99 per cent or increasing it by even more to raise extra cash for the force.

Mrs Mulligan said: “North Yorkshire Police still need to make considerable savings as the cost of running the service is going up and the demands on the service are increasing.

“This will need to be a major focus in the coming couple of years, precept notwithstanding.

“I am also of course very mindful that many of us are feeling the pinch at the moment, so in making my decision, I will need to weigh up a wide range of factors.”

Ms Mulligan has set up an online survey at www.telljulia.comsurvey to gather public opinion on the precept.

It can also be filled out in hard copy at police stations, libraries and council offices in the region before the January 28 deadline.

To put questions to Ms Mulligan ahead of the accountability meeting, email them to info@northyorkshire-pcc.gov.uk by Friday.