Philip Allott, the Conservative Candidate for May 2021’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner elections, met with Prime Minister Boris Johnson following the latter’s visits to North Yorkshire’s police HQ in Northallerton and Masons Yorkshire Gin’s premises at Leeming Bar on Thursday July 30. The PM reiterated the Conservative Party’s commitment to increasing the size of North Yorkshire’s police force after its pledge to recruit 200 more police officers in the region.
As part of a national three-year drive to get 20,000 extra officers on the streets, by April 2021 North Yorkshire should have a total of 1,508 officers along with a further 28 PCSOs. In addition, Home Secretary Priti Patel is establishing a £20million fund to clamp down on “county lines” drug operations, a proportion of which will be allocated to North Yorkshire.
Philip Allott commented: “If elected in May 2021 I will push for these additional officers to boost the visibility of policing in different communities – and also use them to arrest drug dealers and clamp down on the perpetrators of petty crimes in the urban and rural parts of North Yorkshire, so we can improve the quality of life for everyone.”
Mr Allott intends to be particularly tough on drug dealers and dedicated to providing increased support for their victims, working with other police forces as required. He explained: “The aim is for the extra funding for drug operations to roll up the county lines gangs and stop them exploiting children in North Yorkshire. Dealing with drug gangs is a big priority and top of my agenda – these perpetrators must be arrested and taken off the streets for a very long time.”