TAVISTOCK will this summer see its strongest complement of police personnel for many years, according to one of West Devon's chief officers.

Superintendent Sarah Sharpe told members of Tavistock Town Council at its full meeting last week that the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, when he first took up his new role, had pledged an extra 200 front-line police officers would be recruited.

Supt Sharpe said: 'Eighteen of these have come out to us and we have achieved significant growth in Okehampton and Tavistock.

'I was a sergeant in Okehampton many years ago and I have never known police staff to be up to the required strength — Tavistock now has one over strength — and that is something we are going to have to strive to sustain long term.

'You are getting a much higher level of police personnel now, which is really good news.'

Supt Sharpe said recent figures for serious crime in the area had shown a rise in incidents, but this was due to just two incidents — the double fatal shooting at Dousland in the spring and another at Sampford Spiney involving people from outside the West Devon area.

'These were very isolated incidents and not to be taken in context when we look at our crime figures for the end of the year.'

Supt Sharpe said police were striving to engage with people in the community at every opportunity. She said one of the methods which was helping in this aspect was the re-launched police website, where members of the public could contact the force, telling the service what their priorities were, and which also enabled the community to hold the police to count.