NEIGHBOURHOOD TEAM LEADER

I am Sergeant 4316 Paul Searle the Neighbourhood Team Leader for Torrington. 

 I joined the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary in 1993 and since that time I have worked in a variety of posts in Torbay, North Cornwall and Plymouth before coming home to North Devon in 2003. 

It was a pleasure to have been appointed as Neighbourhood Team Leader for Torrington in 2009. In my role I am responsible for supervising the rural and town neighbourhood teams.

Torrington and the surounding parishes are a safe place to live with a very low crime rate. The likelyhood of you becoming a victim of crime fall far below the national average.

TORRINGTON RURAL TEAM 

PC 3569 Dick Rowlands

I am the Neighbourhood Beat Manager for the rural area of Torrington. I have served in the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary for over twenty years now in a range of roles. I commenced my service working in the city centre of Plymouth in the late 1980’s. Once I had completed my probationary period I asked to be posted to North Devon as this was an area that I knew and was a place I wanted to work and live. I was subsequently stationed at Bideford as a Response Officer for about seven years during which time I completed attachments to both the Crime Squad and CID. In 1996 I changed roles and became the Neighbourhood Beat Manager for Bideford’s Town Centre. I was very committed to this role and I received a Chief Constables Commendation for my work. 2002 saw another change of direction for me as the Partnership and multi-agency work I was involved in had steered me towards Crime Reduction. Consequently I became the Torridge Crime Prevention Officer and in 2005 this responsibility was extended to cover all of Northern Devon. In early 2007 this role became civilianised and I was given the opportunity to select a posting. I asked to come to Torrington as a Response Officer so that I could get back into the core Policing role. I now intend to use the skills and experience that I have gained though my career to identify strategies, partner agencies and mechanisms that can be used to focus on the issues and concerns of the community and thereby find solutions.

PCSO 30335 Melissa Baker

Hello, my name is Melissa Baker and I am the Police Community Support Officer covering rural Torrington. I started in January 2007. I have lived in Torrington all my life and know the area very well, this has helped me in my job immensely. As a PCSO I contribute to the policing of neighbourhoods and village through high visibility patrols aiming to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour. Gathering intelligence and community safety work. I achieve this through being accessible and familar to cpmmunities, interaction with schools, groups businesses and partner agencies.

PCSO 30096 Sandra Brown

I am a Police Community Support Officer for Torrington rural. I have been a PCSO for almost 2 years, working for the first year in HolsworthyTown. Before becoming a PCSO I was in the leisure industry which gave me the oppurtunity to work with members of the public ranging from the very young to the elderly. My role involves me being out and about in the community on high visibility patrol, on foot or cycle. This makes me easily accessible and a point of contact for people to liase with. I deal with community issues, attend meetings and functions within the community and also address low levels of crimes and anti social behaviour which may have an impact on the quality of life within the neighbourhood. 

TORRINGTON TOWN TEAM

PC 5036 Kerry Wilson

I am Kerry Wilson the current Neighbourhood Beat Manager for Torrington Town and Taddiport. I moved to this post after working for approximatley 18 months as a response officer in the Town. I joined the Police Service in August 1998 and served in Plymouth for several years prior to moving to North Devon. I have worked in Bideford for many years covering both Response and Neighbourhood Beat duties. Having worked in Torrington for quite some time I already have a good knowledge of the Town and have met some of its residents. Hopefully I am a familiar face to many of you already. As the Neighbourhood Beat Manager I will be working alongside PCSO Lorraine Kenneally. We both work within the Torrington Neighbourhood Beat Team which covers both Rural and Urban. I look forward to meeting you all in the near future.

PCSO 30096 Lorraine Kenneally

My name is Lorraine Kenneally and I am a Police Community Support Officer for Torrington Town. I have been a PCSO since April 2006 but before then I worked as the Enquiry Officer in Torrington Police Station for 7 years. I have lived in Torrington all my life, which certainly helps with knowing the area and the locals. My main role is to provide a highly visible presence in and around the Town, tackling anti social behaviour and any minor crimes. I work very closely with the schools and I am also a School Governor at the Junior School, which one of my two children attends.

Contact us:

You can contact your Neighbourhood Team regarding community issues by e-mail

Torrington@devonandcornwall.pnn.police.uk

Torrington Police cover a large rural area including and surrounding Torrington. The rural area encompasses 28 rural parishes and over 250 square miles of the Torridge area including Alverdiscott, High Bickington, Winkleigh, Dolton, Merton, Petrockstow, Shebbear, Newton St Petrock, Frithelstock, Weare Giffard and all parishes between and within. A number of well established villages lie within this area but in the main it is sparsely populated.

The main industry for the area is of course agricultural or services connected with it. The pressures on villages to grow are easy to see with developments in many villages currently being built. With this increased population comes greater demand on resources and services. With an increasing number of people prepared to commute from their homes large distances in order to secure work the pressures on our countryside and village life has never been greater.

The rural area is served by a number of nearby towns but locally by Torrington. Based at the Police Station are the neighbourhood detailed above along with a number of Response Officers covering the more general police duties and incidents. 

Currently the recorded crime in the area is one of the lowest in the Country, serious crime and disorder are very rare. It is understood from consultation that the fear of crime remains much higher than the actual risk of becoming the victim of crime. It is the ongoing aim and intention of The Team to continue to reduce crime and the perceptions that lead to the fear of it.

TORRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL NEWS

We are ever working closer with our partners at Torridge District Council to provide joined up services. Please take the oportunity to use the 'Useful Link' to see their latest news. From there you will be able to acces all aspects of the councils website including information on all of the services they run for the community.

We are pleased to inform you that no other issues have been brought to our attention.

Should you wish to highlight any community concerns please use the 'Contact your local team' link on the right hand menu.

For information about forthcoming Police Authority meetings in your area, or minutes of previous Authority meetings, please CLICK HERE