Neighbourhood Team Sergeant Jenny Palmer is back working on the Rural East Devon police sector after almost 24 years serving with Devon & Cornwall Police.

She has enjoyed a variety of roles with the Force and now manages eight Police Constables and four Police Community Support Officers.

Her patch includes Honiton, Sidmouth, Seaton and Axminster, as well as many other villages in the surrounding areas.

Jenny is a mum of two teenagers and her husband works for the NHS. The family live in East Devon.  

She explained: “I started my career as a Police Constable in Exeter working on the Response team. After that I spent most of my police life in East Devon. I have enjoyed spells in CID as a Detective Constable and Sergeant and also worked for six years in custody.”

Other skills Jenny has gained over the years include being a trained interviewer for vulnerable adults and children as well as being a tutor trainer helping PCs and Sergeants. She enjoys helping other officers to develop in their careers.

More recently she took on the role of temporary Inspector for the Torbay area in South Devon.

She added: “I joined the police because I always knew I didn’t want an office job. I wanted to make a difference and be out and about in the community. I really enjoy the variety of police work; no two days are the same.

“Some of the most satisfying parts of my career have been getting cases to court and helping others achieve justice. I want victims to feel supported and even smaller issues, which may seem petty to some, can impact people’s lives and need various problem-solving techniques.

“I have always enjoyed working with people and trying to show a better side of policing than they might see on television.”

Jenny remarked that demand for policing and other emergency services has risen as populations have grown across Devon & Cornwall and officers need to be aware of a more diverse range of crimes, as well as continued high expectations of the police.

She commented: “I would say when I first started in policing there was a focus on crimes like robbery and burglary but we now attend more calls to domestic abuse and mental health issues. We are one of the services who are always on duty and we rarely say no. We tackle problems like County Lines drug dealing as well as working closely with partners to protect others. There is more diversity in East Devon and other places now and we are here for everyone.” 

Jenny has taken over the Neighbourhood Sergeant role from Pete Trudgeon who retired recently. 

The Rural East Devon neighbourhood teams are out and about in their communities on a regular basis. They hold drop-in sessions for the public and support local events across the area. If you would like to speak to an officer face to face about any concerns you can call into the Honiton Police Station front office between 10am and 3pm Monday to Saturday. The enquiry office, which can be found on Honiton High St, is closed on Sundays and Bank Holidays.   

If you want to find out more about your local neighbourhood police team please visit the Devon & Cornwall Police website Home | Devon & Cornwall Police

You can also get updates by following the Rural East Devon Police Facebook page.