'Not in my Neighbourhood Week' organised by the Community Section at Okehampton Police Station took place last month.
Sgt Mark Hoar said that since April the team of Community Constables and Police Community Support Officers had been talking to people about how they could improve their service, and what concerns there were regarding law and order in the area.
This was done under the umbrella of Partners And Communities Together — 'partners' meaning Crime and Disorder Reduction partners: police, health, council, education and other professional bodies, together with the voluntary sector and some individuals.
'We conducted PACT surveys and recorded people's concerns. When we looked at the figures, speeding vehicles was the main concern, so we decided to do something about that,' Sgt Hoar said.
On October 9 the Police Automatic Number Plate Reading team was in Okehampton, and as a result five cars were impounded, three for no insurance and two for running engines on 'red' diesel.
The next day there was an outreach morning in Chagford, hosted by Whiddon Tea Rooms, with many people calling in to speak to police staff, West Devon Borough Council staff and a representative from the RNID.
On October 13 speeding and parking outside primary schools was targeted and officers enforced some of the more abused restricted streets and roads, giving fixed penalty notices for various offences.
The usual surgery at Hatherleigh market took place the following day, followed by an environmental visual audit of the town, where officers reviewed street lighting, parking, and vehicle access to see if any improvements could be made in unison with partner organisations. In the afternoon the A386 was targeted for speeding motorists.
On Wednesday 15 outreach surgeries went on the road with the borough council to Drewsteignton, Spreyton and Crockernwell. 'We knocked on over 100 doors to obtain points of view from residents, and their comments and observations will be reviewed later this month,' Sgt Hoar said.
Sgt Hoar thanked Claire Wager and her team from the borough council for organising the outreach surgeries.
On Friday 17 winter safety checks were carried out on cars in Waitrose car park in Okehampton. This was a voluntary arrangement whereby the public could have advice on such things as winter driving, winter tyre checks, lights, windscreen wipers and similar equipment checks, and be given the opportunity to replace old or worn parts without getting a fixed penalty notice.
The same checks were conducted at Mole Avon on Exeter Road in the afternoon. Both sessions were very well received by the public, Sgt Hoar said.
'Although the high profile week has ended, we are still taking the concerns over speeding and anti-social motoring seriously, and will be making regular use of the ANPR team and our laser speed gun whenever and wherever we feel it is necessary.
If you drive badly, too quickly, or your car is not legally on the road we will be looking out for you. Get it fixed, drive it sensibly, or risk a fine or even having it impounded is the message we are giving out this winter,' said Sgt Hoar.