Residents in West Devon have a new daring, charitable police community support officer (PCSO) who is swapping the city for a rural beat.
Debbie Hollinson has worked as a PCSO in Plymouth for the last five years and is swapping the city life in order to learn new skills and understand what policing is like in Tavistock and the surrounding rural areas.
This summer Debbie, who lives in West Devon, was named PCSO of the year at a special awards ceremony in Exeter and received her accolade from Devon & Cornwall Police Acting Chief Constable Jim Colwell. She was recognised for her positive attitude and natural ability to make people feel heard and safe.
Debbie, who used to live in London, always wanted to work for the police but was initially unable to join the Metropolitan Police Service because she was not tall enough under a now-abolished restriction. When she later moved to Devon she joined Devon & Cornwall Police as a PCSO.
Debbie explained: “One of my early role models was my mother’s godmother who was a special constable in London in the 1970s. She was amazing, an early women-in-policing pioneer. She was very different to many female role models and her talking about her volunteering had a big effect on me.”
In Plymouth she worked with agencies tackling anti-social behaviour and street drinking: “It’s important we look after vulnerable people in our communities, without judgement and with compassion. They come from all walks of life.”
She added: ““Locals want to see us out and about on foot patrol, being approachable. They want to be able to stop and talk to us, tell us their issues. During the last five years I got to know a lot of residents, holidaymakers, business owners and those who commute to the city for work. I plan to continue this style of policing on my new patch – good old-fashioned neighbourhood work.”
In her spare time, Debbie likes to raise money for charity and for one of her latest ventures she persuaded Assistant Chief Constable Colwell to join her in abseiling 110ft from Meldon Viaduct near Okehampton. Their daring efforts resulted in vital funds being raised for Pete’s Dragons – a charity which helps those bereaved or affected by suicide.
Debbie raises funds and awareness for the charity because her daughter Darcy took her own life in 2021, aged 17. She has said that Darcy’s death had a far-reaching impact in the community. So she decided to do something to spread wider awareness of the ‘devastating impact’ of suicide, to help others with grief, but to potentially prevent others having to experience it themselves.
Debbie can be seen out on foot patrol in Tavistock and villages with colleague police constables and PCSO Kevin Williams. The West Devon neighbourhood police teams are led by Inspector Nathan Walker and Sergeant Tom Ottley.
Officers aim to be at community events such as Walkhampton Farmers Market on Saturday, November 2 between 11am and 12 midday and Tavistock Dickensian evening on Friday, December 6.
