POLICE in Okehampton are focusing their attention on vehicle crime after a spate of incidents in Chagford and North Tawton — and are relying on the public's help to catch offenders.

Addressing a police liaison meeting in Whiddon Down recently, Chief Inspector Chris Amos said he was disappointed people had not contacted the police when they heard something suspicious going on.

He was referring to the ten vehicles attacked in North Tawton on one night which was not reported to the police until the next morning.

'If you do not alert the police until the next day when these offenders are long gone, it is more difficult to do something about it,' he said. 'You have to give us a chance.'

He said officers became aware people had heard the goings-on when they leafleted the town and took statements.

The vehicles were either damaged or taken without consent and then crashed. Six vehicles in Chagford also suffered a similar fate two weeks earlier.

'A number of people heard the banging and crashing and vehicles being driven down the road with one wheel on,' he said. 'Yet they did nothing at all.'

He urged residents to make that 999 call: 'I would rather you call officers out there — if it turns out to be a false alarm it does not matter because you did it with good intent.'

Chief Inspector Amos said he believed the incidents were alcohol or drug-related

'To do all that amount of damage there has got to be some problem behind it,' he said.

Between April 1999 and January 2000 offences of vehicle interference increased by 425 per cent in Okehampton on the previous year.

The officer said the figures looked bad but that was because there were only four offences last year. Taking vehicles without consent had also increased by 55 per cent but theft from vehicles had decreased by 9.4 per cent.

The inspector said the police were working with local councils to look at improving lighting on streets and organisations such as Moorwatch, Neighbourhood Watch and Dartmoor National Park to make people more aware of vehicle crime.

In the case of taking vehicles without consent, half of the offences took place outside people's own homes.

'How many people have garages and do not put their cars in them or have theft devices and do not use them outside their house?' he said.

'We can make it more difficult for criminals to carry out this sort of activity.'