THE future of police training in North Yorkshire has been secured after a top-to-bottom review of spending in the force saved £7m a year.

The internal review by North Yorkshire Police has been praised by the Audit Commission as ‘notable practice’ and a template for other public bodies to follow.

More than 30 trainee police and community support officers have entered the force as a result of the extra funds, and a new recruitment drive for experienced police officers will begin.

The Capacity and Capability Review (CCR), aimed at overcoming a £5m funding shortfall, was unveiled in 2007 by the then incoming Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell.

As a result of the CCR large parts of the force have been restructured to make them more efficient and there has been a 25 per cent reduction in overtime.

"Perhaps the greatest achievement is the fact that these savings have been realised without affecting performance," said Mr Maxwell.

"Crime has continued to fall and North Yorkshire remains one of the safest places to live."

Led by Acting Assistant Chief Constable Tim Madgwick, the review used modern ‘micro-analysis’ business methods to ensure the force was providing the most effective and efficient service to the public.

Changes included a switch from bottled to tap water at headquarters, a saving of £700 a year, while Volvo V70s supplied to senior officers were changed to Ford Focuses- a saving of £200,000 over four years.

"Effectively, we examined all aspects of policing through a magnifying glass, to see where efficiencies could be made and where performance could be improved. We shone light in some dark corners and blew away the cobwebs," said Mr Madgwick.

"We needed to ensure the force had the resources for what is geographically England’s largest policing area."

The CCR was part of Roadmap 2012- a five year plan to put the North Yorkshire Police on a sound economic and operational footing.

A review of the force’s estate is also underway for the first time, which will detail the state of all assets to allow repairs and upgrades to be prioritised in a more economical way.