WHILE many members of the police force in West Devon are out on the streets dealing with or preventing crime, an important and less known about member of the team can be found at Tavistock and Okehampton police stations on a weekly basis.

Roger Bird has been volunteering as a force chaplain in West Devon for around two and a half years, providing support and a friendly ear for officers and other force members to talk about anything and everything as and when they need it.

Roger is also a member of the Street Pastors group in Tavistock.

‘I’m there just to listen basically,’ said Roger. ‘There are about two dozen chaplains throughout Devon and Cornwall Police Force with allocated stations — mine are Tavistock and Okehampton.

‘I come in on a weekly basis and am just there for officers to talk to me. I make tea and coffee and listen to their rants, concerns — anything really, I’m just there as an independent ear. The pressure these guys are under and some of the things they have to deal with is really intense and being able to speak to someone confidentially can be a huge help to them.’

Roger said he got into the role after attending a seminar by a lead chaplain, who explained about the work she was doing and how they wanted to expand the scheme to have a chaplain in every station.

Roger said: ‘I just thought it was a role I could fit into. It’s rewarding and interesting. It takes a while to gain the confidence of officers and you have to build their trust, but I did already know a few of them from working with the street pastors.

‘We’ve built up relationships over the past two and a half years and they have really accepted me as part of the team.’