Police get £1m in funding for extra foot patrols

Devon and Cornwall Police have said they are aiming to halve knife crime after receiving £1m in funding for extra foot patrols in problem areas.

The force said the scheme, which initially launched in May 2024, saw more than 26,000 hours of additional foot patrols across the two counties in its first year of operation.

The money from the Home Office will fund the scheme in 15 towns and cities in Devon and Cornwall.

In addition to reducing anti-social behaviour and serious violence, police said halving knife crime was a new objective for the initiative.

Officers and street marshals would be concentrated in crime hotspots, said police.

It said the approach had so far led to 256 arrests, 248 items of property seized (including drugs or stolen goods) and 52 offensives weapons seized.

Ch Insp Dom Nicholls, who heads up the project, said the scheme had been "effective in both preventing crime and making people feel safer".

"I am really pleased that the force has received further funding this year as it provides the opportunity to build on the early success of hotspot policing and ensure that the public continue to see more police on the streets," he said.

Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez said there would be extra foot patrols in Bodmin and Tiverton following the new round of funding.

"With the police, street marshals and local authorities all working together, we're creating a more coordinated, community-led approach to public safety," she said.

The patrols will also be carried out in Barnstaple, Bideford, Camborne, Exeter, Exmouth, Newquay, Newton Abbot, Paignton, Penzance, Plymouth, St Austell, Torquay and Truro.

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