SERGEANT Dave Monkton has joined the team at Holsworthy Police Station.

Sgt Dave Monkton (pictured) has been in his new post for just over four weeks as Holsworthy and Torrington Neighbourhood leader.

He recently moved to Holsworthy on response from his former Okehampton position. He is three years away from retirement but has assured the Post that he intends to dedicate the remainder of his working life to the town he is now serving.

Sgt Monkton said: “I have 24 years’ experience in policing, starting as a special constable in 1992 in the West Midlands area. I served in that role for two years before joining as a regular officer in 1994.

“In my time in that force, I worked on response and traffic as well as attachments on the operational support unit and the central motorway patrol group, working amongst other areas, in Birmingham City Centre.

“I transferred to the beautiful Devon and Cornwall area in 2003 and worked for several years from Bude Police station, initially on response, until I became a neighbour beat manager for the town in 2008.

“I was then promoted to the rank of Sergeant and worked for a number of years in Launceston custody department until I moved back to response at Okehampton, and now to my current role as Neighbourhood Team Leader, covering both Holsworthy and Torrington.”

Sgt Monkton said he takes immense pride in serving the local community and has a vested interest in the area he is now serving as he lives locally. His hopes are to become more actively involved with the Holsworthy community, both on and off duty.

He said: “I am new to the policing of this wonderful market town but am delighted to be here and very much looking forward to meeting members of this community, being able to integrate further and hopefully being able to make a difference to the area, locals and visitors alike.”

Crime levels in Holsworthy have remained relatively low in recent years, and Sgt Monkton puts this down to the ‘extremely committed’ team that currently serves the area, adding: “I am particularly lucky to be part of an extremely committed neighbourhood team covering the areas of Holsworthy and Torrington.

“We live in a very safe and beautiful part of the country, which is subject to very low crime rates, and all members of the team strive to maintain this, and work very hard to reduce the fear of crime, and to drive crime rates even lower.”

Sgt Monkton recently attended his first full council meeting to introduce himself to the councillors and explain what his aims for the town would be. He said he likes to consider himself ‘a policeman through and through’ and hopes that will be evident in his approach to improving policing in the town.

He told councillors that he hopes to address the issue of staffing cuts and will work hard to protect the Holsworthy police station.

“PCSO postings are being reduced and it will be challenging for everyone across the country but I have been speaking with the relevant people and have asked whether rural weightings can be taken into account, and if PCSOs do need to be cut that they are taken from the larger areas and not small, rural ones like ours.”

Sgt Monkton told the Post his first priority, whilst serving as the Holsworthy and Torrington neighbourhood team leader, will be to build stability into the team.

“One of my first priorities is to build stability into the team in relation to staffing numbers and longevity of service to ensure that the community are provided with the absolute best service and attention possible from the policing team. Remote, rural policing is like no other policing.”

Sgt Monkton explained that in the current climate the police service as a whole is facing an on-going increasing challenge due to cuts seen to the budget and staff, however he says he will ensure Holsworthy’s police force continues ‘to provide the best possible service we can’.

He added: “I believe that neighbourhood policing is the cornerstone of what we do and I will work hard to help, maintain and improve our community.

“I hope to be a very recognisable, approachable and friendly face within the community and am absolutely delighted to be working in this new and challenging role and look forward to meeting and working with as many people as possible.”