OKEHAMPTON is struggling to get funding for CCTV cameras because of its low crime rate, a senior police officer has confirmed.
Speaking at a meeting of Okehampton Chamber of Trade last Thursday Inspector Keith Perkin said attempts were still being made to get cameras for the town but it was proving to be difficult.
'Unfortunately, we not only have to compete with other police forces but also with probation services and health authorities and it depends on the priority at the time as to where the Government funding goes,' he said.
A bid by Okehampton police for money to get a CCTV mobile van for Friday and Saturday nights was turned down. But the good news is that disorder offences on these nights have been cut dramatically due to an increase in police presence, arrests and subsequent court hearings.
In August, crimes of disorder were up by 27.7 per cent on last year but that reduced to seven per cent in November and in January it was one per cent down.
Inspector Perkin said assault offences were also down by 13 per cent and February's figures looked to be improving further. The crime detection rate had also increased.
To crack down on disruption in the town at weekends, the local police increased their presence from two officers to ten but has relaxed that to six or seven after residents said they felt 'uncomfortable' with the high number and thought it might antagonise people.
Inspector Perkin said eight offenders went to court on drunk and disorderly charges and each were fined between £70 and £100.
Police have also worked with Nero's Nightclub to reduce problems in the town and staff had been very pro-active, he said.
Referring to recent shoplifting offences in the town, Inspector Perkin asked traders to be vigilant and made them aware of a new community messaging service which would replace Shopwatch, with the onus on police to contact shopowners if there was a crime in the area. It is believed the culprits are coming from Torbay, Plymouth and Exeter.
There had been 16 shop thefts since April last year compared with 88 in Newton Abbot, 27 in Tavistock, 57 in Bodmin and 66 in Tiverton.
Trader Muriel Hutchings from Telecare Electrics said Okehampton should not be compared with these larger towns: 'The crime we are getting for the size of our town is ridiculous,' she said.
Inspector Perkin said the case for CCTV would be better if people recorded every crime — very often they did not because they believed they would not get a quick enough response from police.
He said from April 1, a new crime recording system was coming in which would give a more accurate picture of the crime situation in communities but it would depend on people making calls to the police.
He added that shopkeepers were perfectly within their rights to use reasonable force in order to detain a shoplifter until the police arrived.