Corporate Communications Directorate

The team acts as first point of contact for local, regional, national and international media, providing 24-hour coverage in support of operational incidents. The team manages this website, providing information and crime prevention advice to the public. It also manages internal communications, co-ordinating key messages and communications to all staff and officers.

The Corporate Communications Directorate has four distinct departments within it:

  • Media & PR
  • New Media
  • Communications Planning
  • Internal Communications

Media and PR

Provides specialist media and public relations support to operational policing, promotes the work and activities of NYP, manage media relations and protects and enhances the organisation's reputation.

As well as covering usual business hours, the four team members provide 24/7 on-call support for major and critical incidents and provides quick-time advice and guidance to help deal with complex or sensitive media enquiries.

The team is a key partner of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum communications group, with the responsibility of "warning and informing" in the event of large scale emergencies such as flooding, fires, evacuations and terrorist incidents.

The team deals with seven TV news channels, about 15 radio stations and around 60 newspapers on a regular basis.

An average of 70 press releases are produced per month and the team deal with more than 300 media enquires each month. 

All press releases and key messages are also published via the force Twitter and Facebook accounts.

During office hours, 8.30am to 5pm, you can contact the team on 01609 789959. Outside these hours, the first point of contact is the Duty Chief Inspector in the Force Control Room - dial the same number and the call will be diverted.

New Media

Manage and maintain all aspects of the force's digital communications. This includes:

  • the force website, www.northyorkshire.police.uk, which is read by more than 50,000 visitors every month, and includes a "caught on camera" CCTV facility, interactive crime prevention advice and daily email newsletters;
  • official Facebook and Twitter profiles, which are followed by 1,400 and 6,500 people respectively;
  • NYP mobile, a police app designed for smartphones, which was the first of its kind in the country and shortlisted for five national awards;
  • supporting frontline officers in using digital communications such as the website, social media, videos and online community meetings.

Communications Planning

The team co-ordinate all of the internal communications campaigns and a number of external campaigns. They work closely with the Print & Design Unit to write and produce quality communications materials for these. The team plan and co-ordinate all printed promotional literature and liaise with colleagues across the organisation to advise the best way to deliver different messages. Communications Planning write, manage and deliver number of Communications Plans every month.

Internal Communications

The team are responsible for internal communications to staff and officers.  They provide daily and weekly force communications, administer corporate meetings and quality assurance North Yorkshire Police Authority reports.