ON Friday, March 17, I met with Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez at Okehampton Police Station to discuss local policing priorities.

It followed conversations I had with Inspector Chris Conway, area lead for West Devon, while joining him out on the beat in North Tawton three weeks ago.

The first item we discussed was the Police Station itself, with Alison recently announcing that the front desk at the station will be re-opened within the next financial year (so by March 2024 at the latest).

Along with local councillors, I had argued the case for this, citing the distance to other Public Enquiry Offices (to give them their proper name) within the force’s area.

Okehampton’s population is continuing to grow (I was given a tour of one of the new housing developments a few weeks ago) and it is good to see local services keeping up with demand.

When it comes to policing, visibility and accessibility are really important.

This is something I discussed with Inspector Conway in North Tawton and with Alison on Friday, March 17.

The easier it is for someone to see or speak to a police officer when they need to, the more likely they are to report lower level crimes they might otherwise not. And when crimes go unreported, the police can’t take action.

Alison will be increasing the number of Public Enquiry Offices in Devon and Cornwall from 10 (in 2022) to 22 by this time next year and I am delighted she listened to the local case for Okehampton to be one of these stations.

We also spoke about the large intake of new recruits into the force, who are currently going through intensive training.

Seven of these will be allocated to West Devon, covering towns in our constituency like Okehampton, Hatherleigh, North Tawton and Chagford, and dozens of villages in between.

A recent Home Office survey showed that job satisfaction among new recruits to the police is very high - 79 per cent of new recruits said their expectations of joining the police had been met or exceeded, whilst 81 per cent intend to stay in the police for the rest of their working lives.

Some 42 per cent of new recruits since April 2020 have been women. Anyone interested in a career in the police should visit: www.joiningthepolice.co.uk . 

My meeting with Alison also followed the concerning news that the Bow Co-op was victim to a break-in earlier in the week.

Burglaries can be very unsettling, even if the building was empty at the time. I would urge anyone who may have seen anyone acting suspiciously in the area of the store overnight on Monday, March 20 to contact the police on 101.

Other local meetings last week included a sit down at Ashburton Post Office to discuss plans for the branch to supply outreach services to Buckfastleigh and Drewsteignton. 

More from Mel at: www.melstridemp.com .