From February, Teignmouth and Dawlish will each have a new police community support officer. New recruits Patricia Haywood, who will be based in Teignmouth, and Neil Wooldridge, who will based in Dawlish, are currently training at the force's training centre at Seale- Hayne, Newton Abbot They are joining 20 other new PCSOs, who will be patrolling the South and West Devon Basic Command Unit. Chief Insp Mark Backhouse, the basic command unit's lead for neighbourhood policing, said: 'The PCSOs are an integral part of how we are evolving our neighbourhood teams. 'They will work with the current PCSOs and neighbourhood beat managers in providing a highly visible presence in the communities of South and West Devon. 'Although the decision from the Home Office to withdraw funding for the planned recruitment next year has been made, we will still have more people working in our neighbourhoods than we have ever had before. 'PCSOs are key in tackling low-level crime and building community relationships not only with the police, but also partner agencies, working to reduce anti-social behaviour and addressing issues which matter most to local communities. This may mean we see an increase in reporting of incidents, but this gives both the police and our partners a realistic idea of the scale of local concerns and allows us take positive joint action.' If you are thinking about changing career and becoming a PCSO there is still the opportunity to join up. 'We are still recruiting PCSOs in South and West Devon, and we're looking for people who have an understanding that the obvious solution may not be the only one. 'PCSOs don't carry handcuffs or batons, all they have is their ability to win co-operation through good humoured persuasion and won't jump to conclusions in what they see and hear.' The PCSOs will deal with anti-social behaviour, underage drinking, truancy and abandoned and unlicensed vehicles. They have limited powers, which include the power of detention, issuing fixed penalty notices, and the confiscation and disposal of alcohol from under 18s.
