A TWO-pronged approach to fighting crime is helping to make the Okehampton area a safer place to live — that was the message sent out by police during a meeting in the town last week.

The two schemes should do much to reassure residents who wanted to see more police on the the streets, according to officers at the Devon and Cornwall Police Authority liaison meeting held in the Charter Hall last Thursday.

The meeting was attended by West Devon's Inspector Dave Hammond, and independent member of Devon and Cornwall Police Authority, Linda Williams.

It focussed on a community messaging scheme, described as a fast and effective way to keep crime down and residents safe.

The computer messaging system, which is already up and running, allows residents who have registered for the scheme to contact the police quickly and easily for help to prevent or solve a crime.

The system also lets the police get in touch with residents to let them know of any crimes in the area.

The message is recorded by a member of police staff and then broadcast to residents via a telephone, fax or email.

Inspector Dave Hammond said: 'When residents fill in their application for the service, they can indicate whether they want to be part of a particular watch scheme.

'The service allows us to put out messages to people, for instance if there was a suspicious vehicle in the area, people can let us know.

'It also lets people know about police authority liaison meetings and when they are going to be held, etc.

'It is a really effective way of engaging with the community, quickly and efficiently.

And Inspector Hammond urged residents to sign up and be part of the system.

'We are keen for as many people as possible to be on the community messaging scheme,' he said.

Mrs Williams said the new scheme was an excellent way to help make the community a safer place.

She said: 'If anything suspicious happens in an area, the service is an excellent tool in identifying the problem as quickly as possible.

'It's a great way of letting people know what is going on.'

The meeting also focussed on Partners And Communities Together (PACT) system of working.

This allows the police and their partner agencies to engage with all elements of the community.

Inspector Hammond said: 'We do a lot of PACT engaging already with our outreach surgeries.

'We are asking people what sort of things they want from us.

'We have been looking at our neighbourhoods and really getting down into the communities to find out what matters to them.

'We are also planning to run regular engagement events where communities can tell us what they want from the police and partners — it's all about giving the community a voice so they can tell us what is important to them.'

Okehampton town councillor Kay Bickley, who attended the meeting, said she was pleased with the effort the police had made.

Cllr Bickley said: 'I don't have a bee in my bonnet about needing more police on the streets.

'At the end of the day they have a huge rural patch to deal with.

'We have some fantastic PCSOs who have more power than they used to. They do get out to the surrounding villages and they do get involved in the local communities.

'The beauty and strength of PACT it is exactly what it says on the tin — it's the police and the community working together with other key stake holders to address local concern.

Cllr Bickley also backed the community messaging scheme.

'Anything where individuals are encouraged to pass information on to the police is great,' she said.

'Anything which enhances giving information will work very well. If people know the information will get straight through to the police, that's more appealing. It is by sharing information that criminals are caught.'

Cllr Bickley expressed thanks to the police for taking residents' concerns seriously and attending the meeting.

Chairman of Okehampton Chamber of Trade, Ian Bailey said: 'I know the police do a great job with their limited resources.

'We'd all like to see more police on the streets and the chamber and Okehampton Town Council are trying to progress with CCTV in town , which is going to help towards breaking down anti-social behavior and crime.

'We have plenty of areas in town covered by neighbourhood watch, so this is an add-on to the existing neighbourhood watch scheme.'

For more details on the community messaging scheme and to register go to http://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk">www.devon-cornwall.police.uk