Torquay residents can sit down with their local police team on Tuesday 30 June when the Torquay Town Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team opens its doors at 77 Union Street for a community surgery. The session runs from midday at the former O2 shop, and Police Inspector Robert Harvey is urging anyone with concerns about the town centre to attend.
Inspector Harvey said the surgery is a chance to raise problems directly and hear what the team is doing about the issues residents care about. The 20‑strong neighbourhood team, which includes police constables, PCSOs, sergeants and the inspector himself, has set three priorities for the area. It is targeting shoplifting and business crime through hotspot patrols, using powers such as Closure Orders and Criminal Behaviour Orders to tackle antisocial behaviour, and working to improve safety in the evening economy with higher police visibility and the expansion of Project NightEye.
The surgery builds on a wider push to make the town centre feel safer. In March 2025 Torbay Council invested a further £300,000 in Operation Town Centres, which runs alongside the Street Focus project. Between May 2024 and January 2025, council officers and police handed out more than 400 directions to surrender alcohol and over 60 dispersal notices. The neighbourhood team also secured £3,000 from the Home Office hotspot policing fund to support Torbay Street Pastors, who are a regular presence in the night‑time economy.
The council’s latest investment paid for enhanced CCTV, a dedicated antisocial behaviour lead and a new town centres manager. In a parallel move, 61 businesses in Torquay have signed up to the NiteNet radio system, which links venues directly to the CCTV control room and police. Street marshals and Street Pastors use the system on Friday and Saturday nights to coordinate their work. The community surgery at 77 Union Street offers residents a straightforward way to feed into that wider effort, whether they want to flag a recurring problem or simply learn more about the team’s day-to-day work.
About this article: This story was put together with the help of AI tools and checked by a real person on our team. We're a small crew trying to cover as much of the UK as we can on a limited budget. We're getting better every day - but we're not perfect yet. If something looks off, let us know. You're part of the process.
