TEIGNMOUTH police service is already overstretched without the loss of officers to Torbay, town councillors have maintained. They were responding to news that Teignmouth will lose three officers in a bid to help out intolerable performance levels in Torbay. Superintendent Dave Brander, in charge of operations and performance in the BCU of Torbay, Teignbridge, South Hams and West Devon, told councillors at Tuesday's finance and general purposes meeting that it was a temporary re-distribution of staff. 'There are 40 per cent of staff stationed in Torbay but 60 per cent of crime occurs in Torbay. 'In the summer in Torbay it has been impossible for the police to get to jobs they should have got to. 'There has been situations in domestic violence cases where sometimes there are not any officers to respond and some of these cases did not receive a response for up to three weeks. 'It is not good enough and the balance had to be redressed,' he said. But Cllr Sylvia Russell said that already in Teignmouth 'the thin blue line becomes not any line at all,' She said the opening hours at the station were erratic because of lack of staff. 'It's all very well saying we are going to have more police support officers, but they go home at 10pm and that is when the trouble starts,' she said. Cllr David Cox said that the council had worked with the police to target crime, and beat managers had done a good job in preventing crime. 'It seems to me that we have put resources into the community and helped to bring crime down and now you are taking officers away. 'Torbay has brought a lot of this on itself,' he said. Cllr Vince Fusco said: 'Why should we be looking after Torbay. They should be helping themselves'. Supt Brander said he would be 'surprised' if there was a change in service delivery. 'There will be five PCSOs coming into the area and in real terms I am hoping that the public will see little if any difference in their community. 'If there is any difference I expect it to be very small,' he said. Officers will move on from October 3. Newton Abbot is to lose three officers and Chudleigh sector, which includes Ashburton and Moretonhampstead, is also to lose three officers.
