Western Morning News (Saturday)
Call for ‘a fair share’ of extra police after tax rise
COUNCILLORS in East Devon are calling for more local police in order to help tackle increasing incidents of disorder in the area.
A full council meeting saw councillors agree to write to the Chief Constable for Devon and Cornwall Police asking to recognise the needs of East Devon when deciding how to allocate extra resources after a council tax rise will enable 85 new officers to be recruited.
Councillors demanded that extra police be provided to the area, particularly in light of the number of PCSOs being cut from the current 196 to 150.
It comes after the Police and Crime Panel chose not to exercise their veto on Alison Hernandez’s proposals that would see council tax rise £24 a year for the average Band D council tax payer.
Cllr Tom Wright, who proposed the motion, said that over the last two years the increase on tax payers is 20 per cent, so residents should expect to see a significant improvement in the service.
He said: “It is true we enjoy a comparatively low crime rate, but we have also seen an increase in antisocial behaviour and vandalism. Incidents of disorder are up 31 per cent in East Devon and these are the offences that the PCSOs can nip in the bud, and our rural communities placed a huge value on those PCSOs.
“These incidents, while not deemed serious offences, have a very negative affect on our communities and the feelings of safety and security of our residents.
“As East Devon residents are the biggest contributors to the police budget in Devon, other than Plymouth, it is only fair that we should get a fair share of the larger cake.
“The increase for this year that the police are getting from us is an extra £1.5m and for that we should get more police on the streets.”
Cllr Alan Dent added: “PCSOs can nip in the bud problems that can arise.”
He gave the example of a problem of people coming from North Devon to Budleigh Salterton to do wheelies in the car park.
Cllr Dent said: “They were zooming around across the car park. I got cross and took pictures of them. They gave me an earful, but I gave the pictures to our PCSOs, and in 24 hours it was dealt with and we never saw them again.”
He said that there was another incident where garden furniture was stolen from a show house. Cllr Dent again took photographs of the perpetrators, gave them to the PCSO, who said ‘I know who they are and will have a word with their parents’.
“That is the value of PCSOs and why we need them in the community,” he added.
Cllr Brian Bailey said that PCSOs can prevent people from getting caught up with drink and drugs. He added: “Extra funding means officers can go into schools and educate people and get them on the right track.” And Cllr Eileen Wragg said that extra police would help tackle the “proliferation in drug use in Exmouth which is harming our youngsters, and has even resulted in the death of some of them”.
The motion, calling for the chief constable to recognise the needs of East Devon when deciding how to allocate extra resources, received almost unanimous support from the council, with only Cllr Megan Armstrong abstaining.