THE days of the village bobby may be long gone, but crime in Richmondshire is on the decline.

This was the message from Insp Charlie Kay of North Yorkshire police, to the third Richmond parish forum on Thursday of last week.

The meeting was held in the Friary hospital. The forum gives people the opportunity to quiz the police force on how it is performing.

"Crime is on the way down in Richmondshire," said Insp Kay. "I know I say this at every parish forum, but it is."

The assembly was given figures for May 1999 to June 2000, compared to figures for the previous 12 months. Overall, recorded crime had fallen from 1,801 to 1,597 instances.

Insp Kay highlighted three main areas. Auto crime had dropped from 392 to 340 this year, and criminal damage from 348 to 308. Burglaries had fallen from 412 to just 239. "The burglary figure is by far the best in North Yorkshire," he said.

He attributed the reduction in burglaries to the new CCTV system in Richmond town centre. Break-ins had dropped by a quarter since the cameras were introduced. "Key burglaries are down because most of them in Richmond are in the town centre, on commercial properties," said Insp Kay. "Now, we are not a soft target."

Several village residents, including Mrs French of Colburn, complained about the apparent lack of police on the beat. She said: "I see more police on one episode of The Bill than I see in Colburn in a year."

Insp Kay replied: "I have four sergeants and 28 PCs to cover the whole of Richmondshire, split over 24 hours. At any given time there are probably two per shift off, due to training, sickness, leave or being at court, so I actually have about three on duty per shift.

"There will be no bobbies on the beat unless we get an awful lot of money. What we do now is pro-actively police. We have mounted nine operations so far this year, targeting travelling criminals.

"With all the will in the world, crime figures will not drop with a PC sitting in his car in the town centre drinking tea. There are four key areas we need to tackle: drugs, automotive crimes, burglary and violence. Hotspots are being targeted."

Residents of Colburn and Richmond raised fears about fighting in both towns on Friday and Saturday nights. "Arrests for public order offences have increased," said Insp Kay. "This doesn't mean Richmond is getting more violent; it is becoming a safer place.

"Richmond is an exceptionally safe place to live. Unless you are under 30 and go to the late drinking establishments, you are highly unlikely to be involved in a public order offence."

Mrs French then complained about the telephone system at police headquarters. "Ringing Northallerton is like ringing God - you just can't get through."

Insp Kay admitted the current system was "abysmal" but reminded the meeting that call centres with a new phone system were being built. He formally invited Mrs French to a meeting of the police authority in August, to fully air her views, "but don't tell them I sent you!" he said.

The meeting also heard how Richmond's traffic warden had returned to work after a serious illness, and that parking issues would be addressed. A new neighbourhood watch scheme was being prepared.