CCTV could be installed at Teignmouth's River Beach to prevent marine crime, writes Hannah Taylor.
Clerk to the Harbour Commission Graham Bond said that the harbour master was looking into the possibility of CCTV, and linking it with the town council's system in due course. The comments came at January's meeting of the harbour consultative body.
Teignmouth Sergeant Russell Dawe and WPC Joy Stoppard told members that there had been 29 marine crimes in the past year. They included 11 reports of stolen vessels of which nine had been removed from moorings and others from a boat yard and a house.
Six outboard motors had been stolen from four vessels on moorings. There had been 10 thefts from the estuary and from Coombe Cellars. Only one had been detected.
Police told the meeting that marine crimes are notoriously harder to detect because often vessels were not secure or their equipment was not secured or hidden on vessels; rarely did the vessels or equipment have identifiable serial number or some distinctive marking; and often such crime was conducted by organised criminals.
WPC Stoppard said she did and would continue to patrol the beaches and riverside areas and it was hoped that an identifiable presence would be increased with community support officers.
The Police were concerned the Shaldon Boatwatch scheme that had kept an eye on the Shaldon side of the river had collapsed, but member Phil Mawby said that was not the position.
He said it was difficult to find volunteers because of the feeling that there was no prospect of any investigation or enquiry when a crime had been committed. The officers said that although it was difficult to trace and succeed in recovering stolen marine items it was important to report them whatever.