MANY readers will have seen or read about the recent report following the inspection by  His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary , where by Devon and Cornwall Police have been placed in enhanced level.

Looking at the brief details, as an advocate, I can see nothing that most of us are not already aware of and was being pursued by the commissioner, Alison Hernandez.

It should be understood and I am not saying anything that I have not said previously, that we are fortunate to live and work in a beautiful part of the country and that brings with it its own unique challenges.

In many months of the year, the population increases tremendously, yet the police force does not obtain any additional funding to offset that and that alone places additional strain on already stretched resources. We have the longest network of roads in the country, the longest coastline and we are blessed with a tremendous amount of rural areas to police.

Yes you could say quite rightly this is excuse after excuse after excuse and those comments are fair enough but as a police advocates, I  discuss this topic  regularly with officers, the commissioner and fellow advocates, so maybe we collectively  see it as a broader picture and can understand the challenges that are faced daily.

We know the current 101 system is not able to cope with the tremendous demands placed upon it, it is after all the 24/7 emergency service and having been fortunate enough to visit the control room I fully understand that not every single call that us received, either a police enquiry on 101, or 999 is in the true sense of the word, something that the police should be dealing with but it has to be dealt with and it can take up valuable rescources..

I’m also aware that the commissioner has on numerous occasions held discussions with the chief constable regarding the ongoing concerns of those areas that have been highlighted by this report and steps have been taken to address those concerns. although of course, it comes down to having adequate resources.

One thing I am certain  and confident about is, that the new chief constable will already have in his in tray and his diary an appointment to meet with the commissioner  to  discuss and to take this current report from the Inspectorate forward.

Will it meet the aspirations and frustration to the public only time will tell but it’s not going to be a quick fix.

It will be down to all of us , no matter whether we are residents or businesses, to continue to lobby our MPs for better resources, to enable our police force, locally as well as in Devon and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, to meet the expectations placed upon it, it cannot be left, in my opinion, just to the commissioner to deal with on her own.

The opening up of the front desk at police stations, is in my opinion, a great step forward in enabling the public to have a face-to-face contact and a police station.

From the press release already made, readers will be aware that Newton Abbot is just one of those front desks in line to be opening up hopefully before the end of 2022, watch this space.