CRIME in Richmondshire is falling, despite public concern about the lack of bobbies on the beat.

Inspector Charlie Kay, of North Yorkshire Police, revealed the figures to a meeting of Richmond Parish Forum.

From May 1999 to June 2000, recorded crime fell from 1,801 cases to 1,597.

Car crime had dropped from 392 to 340 this year, criminal damage from 348 to 308 and burglaries from 412 to 239, partly because of the introduction of CCTV cameras in the town centre.

"The burglary figure is by far the best in North Yorkshire," said Insp Kay.

"Key burglaries are down because most of them in Richmond are in the town centre, on commercial properties," he said. "Now, we are not a soft target."

Several village residents complained about the apparent lack of police on the beat. One resident 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.