A STRONG sense of community — and lots of rain — they are the first impressions of West Devon's new police inspector Ian Milligan, who after just a few weeks in the job is discovering the ins and outs of the rural beat. Inspector Milligan, 47, comes to the borough from Plymouth, where he was the force incident manager. A policeman for 20 years, he started his force career in Newquay, having turned his back on London and the world of magazine publishing to bring his family back to his South West roots. 'It's the first time I've ever worked in West Devon,' said Insp Milligan. 'My only other experience of working in a rural area was in South East Cornwall for a while. 'I've done various jobs in Plymouth, ranging from being a patrol officer and community officer to the car crime squad.' Insp Milligan said the most immediate difference he has found in his new job was the area he now covers. 'Obviously, Plymouth is a lot busier and there is quite a high volume of crime and incidents, but it's very compact. 'West Devon is such a large area and there's very much the question of how you manage your resources,' he said. 'I believe it's one of the largest borough council areas in the country and the two main centres are half an hour's drive from each other on roads which aren't that good.' Insp Milligan said he believed the crime rates in West Devon spoke for themselves in that it was a very safe place to live. But there was still plenty of room to improve the way the police worked with the community and other agencies to improve points of contact with the force. 'I believe the police community support officers are very important and I am very impressed with the five we have here at the moment,' said Insp Milligan. 'We have three working from Tavistock and two from Okehampton and we'll have four more shortly. They are proving very successful dealing with low level crime and anti-social behaviour, which generally causes the most upset for people. 'They also provide a regular point of contact. Police officers by nature are multi-skilled and have wider powers and can often be drawn away for other duties, so they are sometimes just not visible and not so apparent to the public as a PSCO.' Insp Milligan said he was also keen to develop the role of the neighbourhood beat managers within the community. 'Basically, the police can't solve problems all by themselves but they can use their authority to help support the community and improve the general quality of life and reduce fear of crime,' he said. While serious crimes are thankfully rare within the borough, Insp Milligan felt the biggest single crime issue facing his officers was criminal damage. 'I think for a long time the police have been guilty of perhaps not prioritising this, but it's a criminal activity that has quite serious effects on people because it costs them money. 'In this area, I have no doubt that most of the damage is being committed by youngsters who live in the community, and certainly this is one of things I really want to look at, to encourage youngsters to act responsibly.' Insp Milligan said he was 'very much' looking forward to his new role and is keen to be seen as approachable by members of the public. Although he will be based in Tavistock, he will be spending equal amounts of time in Okehampton and intends travelling around the parishes getting to know the area better. 'It's lovely here, there's a strong sense of community — although it does seem to be a very wet place,' said Insp Milligan, a self-confessed music fanatic. 'I can't go past a record shop without buying something. I have noticed there's a very good Oxfam shop in Tavistock — I shall definitely be exploring that,' he said.
