PARK staff in Okehampton’s Simmons Park will be patrolling its grounds wearing CCTV body cams from Monday (June 8) in a bid to address an ongoing problem with anti-social behaviour.

The body-worn cameras, funded to the tune of £575 by Okehampton Town Council, will be worn by all three park staff.

It is hoped they will both deter anti-social behaviour and provide evidence of incidents which can be passed to the police.

The town council has bought the equipment following a spate of anti-social behaviour in the park last autumn. This included repeated vandalism and drug taking and reports of drug dealing.

There was also an incident late last year when the park-keeper was assaulted by an offender who was being pursued by police through the park.

The town council hopes the equipment will both deter confrontational incidents and stop them escalating.

Mayor of Okehampton, Cllr Julie Yelland said: ‘We have a beautiful, award-winning park in Okehampton which is well maintained and looked after by our dedicated small team of staff and this is very much appreciated by the members of public who visit and enjoy the park.  

‘The body cams have been introduced in response to acts of aggression and abuse that have been directed at our staff by a small minority determined to exhibit anti-social behaviour which cannot be tolerated. It is absolutely essential that our staff are able to do their jobs safely so that all residents and visitors can continue to enjoy the wonderful facilities available to them.’

The introduction of the equipment comes after a quiet period in Simmons Park, when the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 lockdown actually saw a reduction in vandalism.

However, park staff now report that they are now seeing a resurgence of incidents.

Park-keeper James McGahey said: ‘It has been nice and quiet here, with nothing to deal with apart from cutting the glass but the last couple of weekends we’ve had anti-social behaviour again.There have been some smashed bottles and a couple of benches were ripped out of the ground in the woods.

‘We will be wearing the cameras to protect members of staff from abuse and anti-social behaviour.’

Sergeant Nathan Walker, police neighbourhood team leader for West Devon, is supporting the move.

He said: ‘Body worn video cameras are becoming an increasingly popular and effective way of capturing evidence of events occurring within our communities.

‘As the local policing team for the West Devon area we are supportive of all members of our community, including local employees and will work with them to ensure West Devon remains a safe and enjoyable place to live for all.’

Okehampton Town Council is also in the process of working out the final details of a CCTV system to be installed around the town, funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner as part of a Devon-wide scheme to reduce anti-social behaviour in town centres.