Police are investigating the sudden death of a woman in a house on Kings Road, Harrogate.
The ambulance service alerted police to the incident at 9.15am yesterday.
A man in his 40s at the property was arrested on suspicion of supplying class A drug.
He has been released under investigation while enquiries continue.
There was a heavy police presence throughout yesterday at the home, which is on the opposite side of the road to Regal Fruiterers.
No further details have been released at this stage.
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Police outside the house where the woman died.
A man who fell out of a canoe in the River Ure near West Tanfield earlier today has died.
The police have also confirmed that there was a second man in the canoe, but he managed to get out of the water and is currently in hospital.
Residents nearby reported that a police helicopter and plane were circling the Nunwick area at around midday.
The police plane later located the body further down the river near Nunwick.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said:
“Police received a report at 11.15am this morning that two canoeists had got into difficulty in the River Ure near West Tanfield.
“Officers immediately attended the location with colleagues from the fire, ambulance and rescue services.
“One man had got out of the water and was taken to hospital for treatment.
“Sadly, the body of another man was located by an NPAS police aircraft, in the river north-west of Nunwick.
“His family have been informed.”
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Three years for running over police officer in Harrogate
A man has been sent to prison for three years and two months after he ran over a police officer in Harrogate.
Llewellyn Mitcham, 30, was sentenced today at York Crown Court after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.
On March 16, police spotted a car on Bewerley Road in Harrogate that they believed belonged to a drug dealer.
They followed the car into a car park and then left their police vehicle to speak to the suspects.
Mitcham, of Harold Place in Leeds, drove off as the officers approached and hit PC Lister, throwing him into the air.
As a result of the impact, PC Lister suffered a severe fracture to his knee, which he is still recovering from two months later.
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The court heard how Mitcham left the car park and was spotted speeding away before police brought his vehicle to a stop and arrested him.
Mitcham pleaded guilty to causing serious injury whilst dangerous driving, driving without insurance and driving whilst disqualified.
North Yorkshire Police Detective Constable, Kirsty Smith, said:
Julia Mulligan’s track record as Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner“PC Lister has served as a North Yorkshire police officer for a number of years and on the day of the incident was carrying out proactive work to prevent drug dealers from surrounding counties entering the Harrogate area and committing crime.
“During this line of duty he was seriously injured following Llewellyn Mitcham’s actions trying to evade arrest. Mitcham gave no regard for PC Lister’s welfare and made good his escape where he was finally apprehended some 20 miles away following a police pursuit.
“When you suffer an injury like this although we may be able to heal physically, the trauma stays with you. As police officers we know our job comes with risk but Mitcham’s actions and the long-lasting impact of these should not be underestimated, a fact which has been clearly reflected in the sentencing.”
Julia Mulligan formally began her role as North Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner in November 2012.
Representing the Conservatives, she was the first person to ever hold the newly-created position after beating the Labour Party candidate by 13,000 votes. She receives a salary of £74,400.
The former Craven district councillor was re-elected in 2016, and in 2018 the fire service was added to her brief when she became the North Yorkshire Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner.
She has, at times, been a controversial figure. She’s faced accusations of bullying and has been outspoken on social media.
As Ms Mulligan prepares to leave office after the upcoming election, we explore whether she has delivered on some of her key pledges from 2013, and look at how she has handled issues such as county lines drug dealing and the impact of austerity on the force.
What did she pledge?
Keep North Yorkshire the safest place in England: SUCCESSFUL
According to figures published in April 2020 by the Office for National Statistics, the county is still the lowest crime area in England and Wales, despite a 9% rise in recorded offences.
Ms Mulligan partly put the rise down to a change in the way the force records crimes but said she was “particularly concerned” about a rise in violent crime.
The figures show bicycle theft, vehicle offences and criminal damage are among the crimes that decreased since the previous year.
Continuously improving satisfaction levels and confidence in the police: FAILED
The government’s programme of austerity has meant cuts in funding for police forces across the country and North Yorkshire has been no exception.
Mrs Mulligan championed the rights of victims when she was first elected, but a 2019 study that she commissioned on attitudes towards NYP showed that public confidence was mixed.
It found that 48% of people feel the service is deteriorating, and 44% felt the force was getting worse at responding to crimes quickly.
Ms Mulligan called the results “worrying but not a surprise”.
“It has been clear to me for some time now that the public are concerned about the erosion of local policing services.”
A continued reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads: SUCCESSFUL
Ms Mulligan made reducing deaths and injuries on the roads one of her top priorities when she took office, and there has been a decline over the past decade.
In the year Ms Mulligan took office, 473 people were killed or seriously injured on the roads, which was reduced to 335 in 2019.
The office of the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner sold the historic AJ1 vehicle registration plate and raised £190,000 to support road safety projects across North Yorkshire and York.
Controversies
Former police HQ at Newby Wiske Hall.
Ms Mulligan’s 2015 decision to sell the police headquarters at Newby Wiske and move to Northallerton was mired in controversy.
It resulted in a High Court challenge from residents of the village after the building was sold to a company that wanted to create a holiday centre for children with 550 guest beds. They said it would “ruin the tranquillity” of the area.
In 2018 she pushed to expand her role and take over the running of the fire service in the county replacing local councils. However, this was unpopular with North Yorkshire County Council, City of York Council and six of the seven district councils who all opposed it.
In October 2018 the North Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel upheld a complaint of bullying against Ms Mulligan. The panel decided that four people had been subjected to bullying behaviour by her during her time in office.
Ms Mulligan responded that she was “shocked and disappointed” and that if there was there a mechanism to appeal, “I would certainly do so”.
In 2019 she faced an inquiry after allegations she instructed a member of her staff to take down links to a convicted kidnapper from her personal Facebook page. She called the allegations “upsetting and untrue”.
Other issues
County lines drug dealing has become a major national issue during Ms Mulligan’s 9 years in office.
In 2019 a National Crime Agency report named Harrogate as an “area of concern” due to county lines drug-dealing in the town. It said Harrogate is the target of seven organised “lines” bringing in drugs.
In response to the report, Ms Mulligan said that government funding had so far failed to tackle the problem and that police couldn’t “arrest their way out of the problem”.
Pateley Bridge police station was sold earlier this year
Another major issue has been the closure of a third of North Yorkshire’s police stations.
Following a freedom of information request, the force revealed 12 staffed stations were closed in the county between February 2010 and February 2020 with Pateley Bridge the latest station to be closed and sold off.
After stations have closed Ms Mulligan has regularly cited cost savings and the ability to reinvest the money into frontline policing.
In February, the Stray Ferret requested an interview with Ms Mulligan to discuss her time in the role, which her office did not respond to.
Additional reporting by Rhys Talbot.
Criminals targeting motorhomes in North YorkshirePolice are warning motorhome and campervan owners in North Yorkshire to take extra precautions, after numerous reports of suspicious activity.
The force said today there had been a spate of incidents across the county involving cold callers approaching vehicle owners and asking to buy them – even though they are not for sale.
In each case, a man or two men knock on the door and ask the homeowner if they can buy the campervan or motorhome and look inside.
Most incidents have been in the Selby area but police fear it could be happening across North Yorkshire.
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Inspector Clive Turner, of North Yorkshire Police’s rural task force, said:
“Please remember, you aren’t obliged to buy anything from or sell anything to doorstep callers.
“Rogue traders often try to take advantage of householders by using high-pressure sales techniques, or may even be looking for opportunities to steal vehicles or property.
“It’s clear that a group of people are deliberately visiting homes in North Yorkshire with campervans parked outside.
“We have been able to respond to reports of suspicious activity by increasing patrols and visiting homes to gather evidence and provide advice.”
Police also released the following advice to prevent the theft of motorhomes:
- Write your vehicle identification number in several hidden places within the camper van.
- Always lock all doors and windows every time you leave your campervan.
- Do not leave personal or valuable items on display inside the vehicle. Consider forensic and security marking your personal items.
- Fix lock nuts or wheel clamps to the wheels.
- Block in the campervan behind a locked gate, or with another vehicle parked in front of it.
- Fit a tracking device and an alarm, and switch this on every time you leave your campervan
- Call police on 101 to report suspicious people and vehicles appearing to take an interest in campervans or other high-value vehicles. If a crime is in progress, dial 999.
After a year of intense challenges, we spent a morning with the Harrogate traffic cops to learn about the year they’ve had and to get a glimpse of the job as we re-emerge from lockdown.
Whilst patrolling the town’s roads in an unmarked car with TC Tim Healey, he told the Stray Ferret that changing covid rules has meant catching offenders has been like “trying to catch water in a sieve instead of a bucket” and why he doesn’t mind being unpopular.
Covid challenges
The three covid lockdowns have presented multiple new challenges to the police and the government’s guidelines for travel have frequently been tested.
TC Healey said they’ve received many excuses for people on the road when they shouldn’t have been.
He said:
“Travelling for mental health reasons can be the first thing that someone throws at you.”
The officer said the government’s guidelines could have been clearer, which has resulted in people making up the rules to fit what they want to do.
He added that officers have been “pulled in many different directions” due to the changing rules.
“Sometimes it’s been like trying to catch water in a sieve instead of a bucket.”
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Covid has also meant police officers have had to deal with some unsavoury and potentially dangerous incidents in the line of duty.
In Ripon earlier this year, TC Healey stopped a car suspected of drink driving. The passenger wasn’t happy and decided to blow and cough in his face saying “coronavirus” over and over.
Another new phenomenon due to covid was neighbours reporting on other neighbours for suspected covid breaches, which TC Healey said he did not agree with.
Criminality
As the roads in Harrogate become busier as lockdown restrictions ease, we are out with TC Healey as part of Operation Boundary, a campaign to clamp down on criminality and traffic offences.
Whilst observing traffic on Skipton Road, TC Healey spotted a man using his mobile phone whilst driving a white van.
After being pulled over, the man was rude and aggressive to the officer and said, “Do you also want to know what my mum had for breakfast? Why so many questions?”
TC Healey said they regularly face hostility from the public for doing their job.
He added:
“They say you should be catching real criminals like rapists and sex offenders. Or they say have you got nothing better to do than pick on decent people going about their life?
“Were you bullied at school is another classic.
“But road policing is important and until you’ve dealt with a serious collision you look at what we do in different light.”
Criticism
NYP says Operation Boundary has been successful in targeting road offences across the county.
But the force recently received criticism from some residents in Harrogate for the speeds its police cars travel from Harrogate Police Station off Otley Road into the town during lockdown.
In February, a Harrogate police officer who drove through a red light in Harrogate at 50 miles per hour and then crashed into a car carrying two elderly women was found guilty of dangerous driving.
On the balance between driving fast through our urban areas and catching criminals, TC Healey said officers are trained to drive at high speeds as the extra few seconds can make all the difference.
He added:
“It’s not about going fast and flying around. You’re a professional and take your job seriously. You don’t want to put anybody’s life at risk.”
Spring into life
As our three hours in the police car draws to a close without much incident, a message comes through the radio that sees TC Healey’s expensive, high-powered vehicle spring into life.
The blue lights come on and its sirens ring out down Skipton Road as he attempts to catch a vehicle failing to stop reported by other officers near Ripon.
We approach the Little Wonder roundabout at a high speed and my adrenaline threatens to go into overdrive, but TC Healey’s colleagues radio to say the culprits have been apprehended.
The two men are arrested and held in custody on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle and the driver on suspicion of drug driving, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance and failing to stop for police — which to TC Healey means a job well done, even if he wasn’t the one to catch them.
Volvo stolen from driveway in HarrogateNorth Yorkshire Police is appealing for witnesses after a car was stolen in Harrogate this week.
The electric blue Volvo V40 estate was stolen from a driveway on Hutton Gate between 10pm on Monday and 2am on Tuesday this week.
A police statement said:
“In particular, we are appealing for information about the vehicle’s movements and whereabouts, and if any suspicious activity was noticed during this time period in the area. The vehicle is believed to have traveled towards Leeds.”
Anyone with information can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for Kayleigh Corcoran, or email kayleigh.corcoran@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12210096907.
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Is it a buzzard? A great tit? …Or a police speed van?
Cunning motorists in Harrogate have attempted to avoid a possible fine for posting the location of mobile police speeding vans on social media by using coded birdwatching terminology.
The Harrogate Road Watch group on Facebook has over 3,000 members who post up-to-date locations of North Yorkshire Police‘s mobile safety camera vans in an attempt to warn other motorists of their presence.
Earlier this month, news articles circulated online that said drivers who post updates on social media warning other road users of police “speed traps” could face fines of up to £1,000.
It said this is because there is a law that states it’s an offence to “wilfully obstruct a constable in the execution of his/her duty”.
This prompted members of the Harrogate group to get creative. Members have recently referred to the police speeding units as “great tits” with “beaks pointing towards the A1”.
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One member said:
“Greater spotted tit in Killinghall fluttering towards Ripley.”
Another said:
“Great tit on Harrogate bypass usual spot near Haggs Road turning Tuesday 1pm in Birdwatching van.”
One member warned of a bird of prey.
“1230. Buzzard nesting near Melmerby. Beak pointing at A1.”
North Yorkshire Police publishes details of every location mobile safety camera vehicles visit, when they attended and for how long. It also includes a breakdown of every offence recorded at each location and how each offence was dealt with.
A spokesman for NYP said he would not comment on how people use social media but said sharing information about where mobile speed cameras are does not present any issues for the force.
Harrogate police officers face social media restrictionsNorth Yorkshire Police is imposing restrictions on officers’ social media accounts that will prevent them posting directly to the public.
The move will have implications for the popular Twitter accounts of Harrogate traffic sergeant Paul Cording and Harrogate traffic constable David Minto, who between them have more than 20,000 followers.
Their tales of life on the road include live traffic updates from accident scenes and details of motoring offences.
But soon they will be unable to post directly to Twitter under their police names.
North Yorkshire Police is centralising its approach to social media by encouraging people to follow its official accounts, rather than those of individual officers.
Officers can still post under their names provided their messages go through official channels first.
Another spot by @NypAnpr and @TC174_NYP & my @NYorksRPG team stop this vehicle near #AllertonPark Driver tests positive for #Cocaine & is arrested. I assisted with bloods in custody & they will be sent to @RSSS_DianeFair for analysis #Fatal4 pic.twitter.com/4NxBO3hYGO
— Sgt Paul Cording BEM (@OscarRomeo1268) March 21, 2021
https://twitter.com/TC174_NYP/status/1372328691338985474
A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:
“We are reducing our accounts to make it easier for our communities to find the latest updates from North Yorkshire Police and what is happening in their area, as well as enabling us to respond to the issues that matter to those communities more quickly and effectively.
“The changes are not banning anyone from social media. The many officers and staff who already post and share fantastic social media content will move to posting that content across our force wide and district accounts. Some have already started doing this.
“If they wish to they will be able to give their name so the public still know who is the voice behind the post as we know how much their personalities are valued by our communities.”
Sgt Cording told the Stray Ferret he was aware changes are coming but at this stage it was inappropriate for him to comment.
In an interview with the Stray Ferret last year, he said there were “some issues” within the force when he started tweeting in 2011 but increasingly the police had recognised the value of officers engaging directly with the public and showing a bit of personality.
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Police image of man wanted after Ripon theft
Police have issued a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to following a theft from Sainsbury’s in Ripon Market Place.
A man entered the store and took about £500 of printer ink. It happened at about 4pm on March 1.
Officers believe the man in the image has information that could help the investigation and are asking anyone who recognises him to get in touch.
Read more:
Anyone with any information can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for PC 733 Mitchell or email Elliot.Mitchell@northyorkshire.police.uk.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Please quote reference number 12210069492 when passing on information.