A Neighbourhood Support Team has been implemented in Plymouth to give additional police support in targeted areas of the city, to tackle anti-social behaviour and crime.

In January 2024, Plymouth was the first Basic Command Unit (BCU) across Devon & Cornwall Police to introduce a Neighbourhood Support Team. This specialist team, consisting of an inspector, sergeant and five police officers, is deployed into specific areas of the city for a set period of time to tackle issues reported in the area.

The team work towards a tailored problem-solving plan set by each of the four local neighbourhood policing teams that operate across Plymouth. The Neighbourhood Support Team are there as an extra resource to assist the local policing teams to eradicate a specific issue from an area and prevent further issues from developing.

The key priorities for the Neighbourhood Support Team are to conduct high visibility foot patrols in specific locations to deter offending and reassure local communities. The team also conduct house-to-house enquiries to encourage residents to report issues and concerns to the police and carry out targeted enforcement activity.

Since January, the team have been sent on three different deployments across Whitleigh, Plymouth city centre, and Keyham. They have supported with issues ranging from anti-social behaviour and youth disorder to the unusual discovery of the World War II bomb in Keyham.

During their initial deployment in Whitleigh, the team focused on conducting proactive house-to-house door knocks which provided them with fresh intelligence which hadn’t been reported previously. Following this information, the team were able to have an immediate, positive impact on reducing the threat of harm in the area by arresting a male and seizing a large quantity of drugs and cash. Without the information provided through proactive house-to-house door knocks carried out by the team, this positive outcome may not have happened.

Despite only being operational for the past three months, the team have conducted over 100 high visibility patrols (with the majority of these being on foot), carried out multiple arrests, safeguarded many vulnerable people, conducted multiple stop searches, directed dispersals, and disrupted serious or organised criminal activity. Currently, the team are tasked with supporting the local policing team in Devonport to reduce violence and anti-social behaviour.

Inspector Dom Nicholls, who has been co-ordinating the Neighbourhood Support Team, said: “The Neighbourhood Support Team were introduced to respond more dynamically to increases in crime and anti-social behaviour across Plymouth. Whilst every area has a dedicated neighbourhood policing team made up of local officers, there are times when additional police resources are needed. The Neighbourhood Support Team enables the police to respond in greater numbers to escalating issues and bolster our presence in an area to better understand community concerns and act on them.”

Inspector Nicholls added: “It is important that the team stay deployed in an area long enough to build relationships with the community, as the increased trust and confidence in the officers has encouraged the community to share more intelligence with the police. This is key to the success of the team and the wider neighbourhood teams, and I would encourage the public to continue to report their concerns to us.”

It is important that issues affecting local communities are reported to the police in order for the teams to understand where additional resources are most needed. To report issues to your local neighbourhood team, visit the Devon & Cornwall Police website or complete the Community Engagement Survey to enable the police to better understand the issues that affect you.