Torridge councillors annoyed as police scrap training

Torridge councillors have got the hump with the police over their refusal to give them training sessions to help tackle crime.

Members of the council’s external overview and scrutiny committee said police are always asking for their support, but not willing to give them bite-sized training sessions – a move which has left them feeling miffed.

Meeting chair Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin (Lib Dem, Shebbear and Langtree) said when she was a new councillor four years ago she went on a police workshop which was available to all councillors and gave them a snap shot of how police build intelligence, such recognising the signs of ‘county lines’ drugs operations.

“They are saying now they don’t have the resources to put together a programme,” she said. “They want our support but when we request it of them, they say they don’t have the capacity to provide it.

“The police talk about connecting communities and say all the right things but if there is nothing in place to coordinate it’s not going to work.”

Vice chair Cllr Annie Brenton (Lab, Bideford West) said at the first meeting of the new council following the elections, a police officer assured councillors that police wanted to support them and encourage them to get involved.

“It’s a two-way street actually. If they want us to support them and encourage our community to support them then they have to support us,” said Cllr Brenton.

She said the programme was already available, and it was a poor excuse not to be able to provide it to the rest of the council.

“To not let us sit in on this scheme and get this bite-sized information is ludicrous,” she said: “Our community is concerned about policing in our area. We need to go back to the police on this.”

Pressure will be put on police officers at the community safety partnership meeting in the autumn.