A SCHEME that allows civilian police staff to gather evidence and interview suspects has saved 12,872 hours of police officers' time in only six months.

The staff were taken on in October last year to form Case Building Units at North Yorkshire Police's four custody areas in Harrogate, York, Scarborough and Northallerton.

The aim was to release police officers from having to deal with paperwork and the investigation of cases when an arrested person is brought into custody, allowing them to go back on the beat.

The teams carry out a variety of tasks, including taking witness statements, gathering evidence, interviewing suspects and completing prosecution files for court.

Staff have been given a continuous programme of training, which includes interview technique, case file preparation, the rules regarding disclosure and customer service.

In six months, they have interviewed 1,699 detainees, of which 1,106 were charged, and in doing so 12,872 hours of police officers' time has been saved.

Chief Constable Della Cannings is about to accredit the first group of 28 investigators. This will allow them to make further arrests during interviews under the Police Reform Act 2002 and to interview suspects alone. Pre- viously, they had to do so in the company of a police officer.

Ms Cannings said: "I am delighted to see that the Case Building Teams are working so effectively and have now gained their accreditation.

"Until now, interviewing detainees and evidence gathering were seen as the preserve of the police officer.

"These figures prove that this job can be done just as effectively by highly-trained civilians, releasing police officers back on to the streets where our communities tell us they want to see them."

The success of the scheme has also been noted by the Home Office.

Their National Bureaucracy Advisor, Assistant Chief Constable Alex Marshall, said: "North Yorkshire's Case Building Units are very interesting and worthy of comparison."

He has advised other forces to look at the North Yorkshire system when considering setting up similar teams.

The accreditation ceremony is taking place on Monday at the North Yorkshire Police Headquarters, Newby Wiske, near Northallerton.