POLICE chiefs have come under fire over a controversial call centre scheme.

Members of the North Yorkshire Police Authority have met Chief Constable David Kenworthy to raise complaints about the new system for dialling the county's police.

The force is phasing out individual control rooms at police stations and is replacing them with two call centres, at Northallerton and York. It means that callers can no longer contact their local officers by phone, without going through the call centre first.

Authority members told Mr Kenworthy that they had received complaints from the public about the quality of the service.

County Councillor Jane Kenyon, the authority's chairman, said: "If the police are going to retain the confidence and support of the public, then they need to get this key area right."

Mr Kenworthy said 500,000 calls were made to the force every month and most were dealt with very efficiently. He accepted that the system had caused some problems and has appointed Chief Inspector Ken Mackintosh to monitor the standard of the service.

"Recent complaints made by the public have identified some flaws in the way in which the force overall deals with calls, and I have taken action to remedy the faults," he said.

He defended the call centre system, saying it was too early to judge it, but promised to improve communications between centre staff and the rest of the force.

Coun Kenyon said: "The call centre arrangement is here to stay. It is by far the most efficient way in this day and age for the public to deal with the enormous numbers of calls they receive.

"But the public deserves a first class service. I know the police can give that service and the police authority will be closely monitoring the position."