Exmouth to become training ground for police

Shoppers and residents in the seaside town of Exmouth will notice a greater police presence in the town on Thursday (24 July) as 22 recruit police officers take to the beat.

The extra officers are not a permanent increase in the officer numbers in the town, but are in their final stages of training at the Force training college prior to being sent to stations across the force.

Jeanette Ritson, the service delivery manager from Learning and Development at Middlemoor said: “We use a number of locations across the force for this type of training, when the students deal with exercises in full view of the public.

“The officers are being assessed at the time by experienced colleagues who will assess their actions and test their level of knowledge before giving them instant feedback.

“This has proved very useful in the past in developing the potential of the staff in a short space of time.”

The practicals have previously taken place in Exeter, Newton Abbot and Teignmouth. On occasion this has resulted in crimes or other incidents being reported by the public to the students and the officers are able to deal with the minor incident but will also be able to call upon their more experienced local colleagues for assistance.

Exmouth Sector Inspector Antonia Weeks said: “We all know how important the training is, and for the recruits to have to work in public view will definitely only add to the realism.

“These are the officers of the future and I am pleased that the public in the town will be able to see their training in action, safe in the knowledge that this is an exercise and not a major incident.”

The public are welcome to speak to the officers and staff during the day who will be more than happy to explain any aspect of the training.