POLICE Officers in the Okehampton area are urging residents to come forward if they have information about crimes or suspected illegal activity.

The local Neighbourhood Police Team are keen to receive community intelligence from residents so they can better target their resources. Information from local people has helped officers build investigations in the past and led to offenders being brought to justice.    

Neighbourhood Team Leader, Sergeant Tom Ottley, covers the local Okehampton policing sector and manages a team of Police Constables and Police Community Support Officers.   

He said: “We would like to make sure that local people can have a say in various ways. We work as a team to tackle the local priorities including drug dealing, anti-social behaviour and road safety, as well as rural crime.  

“Okehampton town centre is covered by CCTV which is another positive tool that police can use to help them prevent and detect offences in the area. Local officers work with the council and other partners to make sure those who live, work or visit the town are in safe hands. It is vitally important that we connect with our communities and make sure they feel they are able to come to us if they have vital information which may help us do our jobs better.”     

You can contact your local police team by emailing: [email protected] or calling into the Public Enquiry Office at the Barton Road Okehampton Police Station between 10am and 3pm Monday to Saturday.

The PEO is not open on Sundays or Bank Holidays. If you wish to report non-emergency matters to the Force you can also dial 101 or report via the Force website: www.devon-cornwall.police.uk .

If you wish to remain anonymous and have information about crime please contact independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or visit: www.crimestoppers-uk.org .

Police will be attending a street briefing at Red Lion Yard, Okehampton on Saturday, April 20 from 10am to noon and if you live further afield you can catch them at Bedford Square in Tavistock on Saturday, March 16 between 10am and noon or on Saturday, May 18 from 10am - noon at Yelverton Farmers' Market.

Devon and Cornwall Police is also urging residents to sign up to Devon and Cornwall Alert which is a two-way system for receiving relevant information about crime and crime prevention via email or text message.

The scheme has more than 37,000 subscribers and users can choose content appropriate to their location or type of business or hobbies such as those working in farming or with an interest in horse riding - for example.

To find out more please visit Home Page - Devon and Cornwall Alert .

• Officers from the Okehampton Neighbourhood Team carried out warrants in February at three different addresses in the town.

They seized offensive weapons such as knuckle dusters and a large amount of cash. Three local men were arrested and remain on bail in connection with the operation.

For further updates on local issues and information about public events please follow Okehampton Police on Facebook.