THE rural East Devon policing sector is staffed by 35 officers, who work in shifts.

They are split into teams and their shifts sometimes overlap, during busy periods.

That is what a police authority liaison meeting, held in Honiton, heard from Inspector Antonia Weeks.

Made up of neighbourhood and response officers, the teams provide 24-hour policing cover, seven days a week.

Inspector Weeks said PCSOs are concentrating on long-term issues, including anti-social behaviour.

Areas of concern, raised by residents with police through the Partners and Communities Together (PACT) initiative, include speeding traffic, dogs’ mess and litter.

However, recent speed checks on the A373 at Awliscombe had revealed that less than one per cent of drivers were travelling in excess of the speed 30mph speed limit.

Inspector Weeks said it was all about people’s perceptions of speed.

Young people across the sector cause very few problems, she revealed, but complaints tended to “spoke2 during school holidays.

Anti-social drivers are being targeted at Heathpark in Honiton and the Underfleet in Seaton, the meeting heard.

Under-age drinkers are being made to appear before panel in Sidmouth, after being collected from the town’s police station by their parents. Inspector Weeks said it was a restorative approach to the problem.

Isolated buildings in Devon’s border with Dorset and Somerset are proving vulnerable to break-ins, it was reported.

Drug offences are being targeted at the moment – because drug abusers can commit burglaries to feed their habits.