Plymouth city centre receives additional patrols in hotspot areas

Street marshal patrols launched in Plymouth this week as part of a hotspot policing initiative for Devon and Cornwall.

Plymouth Against Retail Crime (PARC) are delivering the patrols. The PARC Rangers have already been patrolling the city centre and the funding enables extra patrol hours to complement the community safety work already underway.

The patrols aim to proactively disrupt crime and act as a deterrent, as well as providing a reassuring presence to help people feel safe.

A briefing was held at Plymouth’s police station before the first patrol. Key parties came together to learn more about the proven methodology of hotspot policing. This included members of the team at Plymouth City Council, the PARC team and the neighbourhood policing team.

Joint patrols between PARC and police aim to tackle antisocial behaviour and serious violence

Councillor Sally Haydon, Cabinet Member for Community Safety at Plymouth City Council, said: “This is great news to hear that the new patrols have started. More street patrols about in the city centre will help residents have peace of mind and will help them feel safer when out and about.

“We can always do more to help people feel safer, but this is another excellent initiative that we have in place to help put a stop to antisocial behaviour.”

Local insights were shared by Inspector James Drake who oversees Plymouth’s neighbourhood policing team. Hotspot policing has already made an impact in Plymouth which has received funding for both additional police and street marshal patrols as part of this initiative.

Since starting in May, over 200 hours of hotspot police patrols have led to attendance at over 50 antisocial behaviour (ASB) incidents and 20 arrests in Plymouth. The patrols also enable preventative work and impactful engagement with both residents and businesses.

Joint working between the police and council is vital to create long-term change. Devon & Cornwall Police crime data was used to identify the hotspot locations and create patrol plans which have been shared with partners.

Inspector James Drake said: “Police officers and PCSOs within Plymouth will be providing joint patrols with PARC to provide high visibility hotspot patrolling in the areas of highest demand. This will reduce the levels of crime and ASB that are reported in those areas, making our communities feel safer.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez secured £1 million in Home Office funding for hotspot policing, which forms part of a wider Street Focus project. The funding is shared across multiple locations in 13 towns and cities, including Plymouth. A further £200,000 in funding from the Commissioner will help to maximise the number of partner patrols across Devon and Cornwall.