An Okehampton police inspector has spoken about how he is working to increase visibility and public confidence in the force following concerns raised over recent incidents of anti-social behaviour in the town.

Inspector Chris Conway spoke at an Okehampton Town Council meeting on Monday (June 26) on plans to increase police presence in Okehampton and the surrounding area, which includes attending more public events and carrying out more patrols especially during times of high footfall or in known hotspots of anti-social behaviour.

He said that despite West Devon being one of the safest places to live in the country (according to the number of crimes per 1,000 of the population) he was aware that the public had raised concerns on social media about certain issues that needed to be addressed by the police.

He added: ‘West Devon is one of 27 sectors in Devon and Cornwall police force – Devon and Cornwall is the third safest force in the country – and West Devon is the safest of all our 27 sectors. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have some issues.

‘You may have seen on social media or read in the paper about what people perceive to be issues both in Okehampton and across the wider six towns of West Devon and it’s incumbent on us as a police service to deal with those and also increase public confidence in our presence.

‘I challenge my team to do three things and that’s to build public confidence, be operationally excellent and be proud to serve. What I want the teams to do is take pride in their performance when they attend an incident, be visible and show what we do in West Devon and communicate that with the residents and public.’

As part of the plan to improve police visibility in the area, Inspector Conway has recently established a new task force in Simmons Park, following an incident in the park during which three teenagers were attacked. This will see a greater police presence in the area as they conduct more regular patrols.

Inspector Conway has also addressed concerns over police staffing levels and assured councillors that the there were enough officers and staff to cover the area.

He said: ‘You hear all the horror stories that we have got very few or no resources. I can assure you that is not the case, though we would always like more officers and staff.

‘I have got over 50 officers and staff in West Devon based pretty equitably between Tavistock and Okehampton.

‘Of those we have got 29 on the patrol cohort. 

‘We actually have a design of five sergeants and 22 PCs and in West Devon at the moment we have five sergeants and 24 PCs.

‘In neighbourhood policing we have a design of ten and currently have one vacancy and the rest of my staff are split between [different police work].’

Since he took up the role six months ago, Inspector Conway has set up a new West Devon Police Facebook page in order to provide members of the public with a greater insight into the work the police do in the region.

‘We are really active on all social media forums,’ Inspector Conway told councillors. ‘We try and explain what we do on a day-to-day basis, we try and show where we are patrolling, what we are doing and real try to interact with the public. 

‘If we’ve been patrolling an area and perhaps if [the public] haven’t physically been able to see it, they can see it on social media.’

The front desk at Okehampton police station is expected to open at some point this financial year, which ends in March 2024, and it is hoped that this will also improve the relationship between public and police.

The plan will bring an open desk back to the town for the first time since its closure on November 1 2014. 

Since then members of the public have had to travel as far as Exeter to visit a public enquiry desk.