Residents in Teignmouth can meet and greet their local policing team tomorrow (August 23) when ‘Chat with a Cop’ returns to the town.

The sessions are aimed at enabling local residents to share any concerns they have, talk through any issues, ask questions and pick up crime prevention advice.

Inspector Sean Roper, who leads the Teignmouth Neighbourhood Police Team, said the team has been working hard over recent months to keep people safe. ‘The summer is always a busy time in Devon and Cornwall, especially coastal resorts such as here in Teignmouth,’ he explained. ‘There are lots of extra visitors and people on holiday enjoying themselves. The roads get even busier as lots of people flock to this beautiful part of the world over the school break and we also have to manage extra demand and incidents on the water.’

He added: ‘The extra demand on emergency services means my neighbourhood teams, as well as patrol officers and other units like roads policing have to be ready for a variety of calls from the public and they work extra hard to keep people away from harm. We want to connect with the visitors and of course the residents who live here all year round. They know they can come to us if they need us.’

Officers will be on either the Den promenade near Teignmouth Pier, or on the Triangle between 2.30pm and 4.30pm on Saturday August 23.

Additional surgeries will be held on September 20, October 18, November 15 and December 13. Although, Devon and Cornwall Police said officers may not be available if they are deployed elsewhere at short notice due to operational demands.

Please note that officers may sometimes be deployed elsewhere at short notice due to operational demands.

Teignmouth Police launched their monthly ‘Chat with a Cop’ sessions in May as a way of making themselves as accessible as possible. The local policing team had previously held ‘surgeries’ in Teignmouth Triangle, but were keen to implement a more regular event.