Teignbridge is to lose 14 police officers to Torbay, as the seaside resort falls behind with crime detection targets and clearance of incident logs.
But five officers that had previously been seconded to other forces – one had been serving in London after the July 9 bombing last year – are to be recalled to Teignbridge, leaving the district with a net loss of nine officers.
Newton Abbot is to lose three police officers, three will be sent from Teignmouth and three from Chudleigh.
Currently, Chudleigh has 20 police officers, Teignmouth and Dawlish have 31 full-time staff and Newton Abbot has 36.
The moves will take place on October 2, although police personnel are already being notified of their forthcoming move, which is officially temporary, lasting for the next three months. This new policy is a strategic move by police chiefs who want to bail out an ailing Torbay. Supt Dave Brander, in charge of implementing operations and performance in the BCU of Torbay, Teignbridge, South Hams and West Devon, said: 'The migration of staff is to deal with performance issues in Torbay. It is unfortunate, but the situation in Torbay cannot be allowed to go on.
'Officers are not getting to critical incidents in the time scales. We had to look at our resources in terms of where the demand is,' explained Supt Brander. New police community support officers (pcso) throughout the force area would help mitigate the loss of officers, but Supt Brander admitted 'it will not redress the balance. I understand the local concern because in Teignmouth and Dawlish there will be three fewer officers, but we should be able to mitigate that. 'I would say that the public should not be concerned. In real terms, we will still be able to respond to emergency incidents in the timescale set by the government. 'We are not moving into an unmanageable situation. It would be crass to say the service will be just as good but it will not be manifestly different for the provision in Teignmouth and Dawlish.' Town councillors at Chudleigh were dismayed to hear the news that they were to lose three police officers, and expressed doubt that they would ever be allowed to return. The council plans to write to Acting Chief Constable Nigel Arnold to object to the move. Newton Abbot mayor, Cllr Daphne Watts, said: 'I am horrified. This is a retrograde step – robbing Peter to pay Paul. We are hardly able to cope with what we've got as it is – there are problems in the town in the evenings and at weekends. They may give us PCSOs instead but they do not replace fully qualified police on the ground.' Chief Supt Andy Clarke defended the police move. 'It is necessary to increase staffing in the front line,' he said. 'We are making these changes to improve the standard of policing.' He did not agree with claims that this was policing on the cheap, that police officers would be replaced by PCSOs. 'We will meet the demands for visible policing in rural areas with the use of PCSOs,' he said. 'They are trained to deal with community issues, will know the area and will not be pulled off for other duties. Highly trained officers will be freed from low level nuisance calls and be able to provide emergency response and deal with major crime.' He said that the target number of police officers for Devon and Cornwall was 3,500 and this target was reached in March 2006. 'There is the highest number ever of police in Devon and Cornwall,' stated Chief Supt Clarke. 'PCSOs are in addition to police officers.'