POLICE in West Devon will be more accountable to the public in a shake-up which will see an increased uniformed presence on the streets and more focus on communities. Devon and Cornwall Police this week launched its new approach to neighbourhood policing which will enable the public much greater influence on police priorities. Each neighbourhood throughout Tavistock will not only see a noticeable increase in resources but will have a dedicated team who will be working to ensure the safety of residents. West Devon police inspector Ian Milligan said that in the past police officers were often abstracted from their assigned communities to deal with incidents elsewhere but under the reorganisation more emphasis was being put on neighbourhood areas. 'Individual neighbourhoods will have a dedicated police officer who will be supported by a PCSO and special constable and be able to focus on the issues which the public identify as well as enhance the service which we are already providing,' he said. 'We will be working with councils, neighbourhood watch schemes, highways agencies and the like to deal with issues and tailor solutions to individual communities. 'Enforcement is one thing but there are lots of other problems that we can look at and think laterally about how to solve them.' Deputy commander of the South and West Devon Basic Command Unit Barry Marsden said neighbourhood policing had moved on since its initial launch throughout Devon and Cornwall four years ago. 'The major difference between four years ago and now is that we will be developing how we work in partnership towards neighbourhood improvement. 'I believe this is only the beginning and we are developing closer relationships around community engagement and communications with our partners,' he said. A major change to policing has been the allocation of resources to neighbourhoods. In Tavistock, Sgt Bob Hughes will lead the team which will be split into three areas covering Tavistock town centre and the rural communities. There will be four beat managers supported by four PCSOs and five dedicated special constables. Chairman of Bere Ferrers Parish Council Bev Slaughter said new style neighbourhood policing was already having an effect in his parish. He said 18 months ago the parish had a big problems with vandalism but things had changed for the better since neighbourhood beat manager Rick Hartigan and PCSO Seonaid Greenwood had been assigned to the area. 'They have done a grand job in keeping things down to a level,' he said. 'They work it between them so that if one is on earlies the other is on lates and so on. 'As a result, over the winter months the crime rate has gone down and it has been a lot better for the parish. 'The introduction of the PCSO has been a vast improvement and the parish council has written to the inspector to tell him that. 'PCSO Greenwood has built up a rapport with the youth. They listen to her.' Mr Slaughter said better liaisons between the community and the police meant people were now less frightened about contacting the police or Crimestoppers with information about crimes and that had enabled officers to take action. The new approach comes into force next month. Communities will be able to identify who their local policing team is and how to contact them. The Times will be featuring local policing teams in forthcoming editions.