New Devon And Cornwall Police chief aims to turn the force around

Interim Chief Constable James Vaughan says the public should see progress within three to six months.

Author: Chris TatePublished 22 hours ago

Devon and Cornwall's interim chief Constable says - within three to six months - the public should see real progress, as he works to turn around the force.

Former Dorset boss James Vaughan has been brought in while both the current - and first interim chief Constable - are suspended pending separate investigations

The force remains in special measures for things like 'crime recording compliance'.

Chief Constable Vaughan told us: “We've seen a reduction in anti-social behaviour over the last few years. And I just want to be absolutely sure that that reduction isn't because people are fed up waiting to report their anti-social behaviour on a 101 system that a year or so ago wasn't providing a good enough service."

He also explained that the force's response to shoplifting is a priority for him. This week we reported on shopkeepers who were not even reporting incidents to police - after no one turned up on previous occasions.

"We haven't been providing a good enough service to our retail partners and colleagues. That's not good enough. And we are looking...I'm looking very carefully at what we're doing to restore that level of service that people once enjoyed."

The Chief Constable was sworn in during an attestation ceremony held at the Force’s headquarters in Exeter last Friday.