by Alan Quick

CREDITON International Social Cultural Organisation (CISCO) held a public meeting at Crediton Fire Station, when the guest speaker was PCSO Melanie Smith, the Migrant Communities Police Community Support Officer for Devon and Cornwall Police in Mid Devon.

Many people from the town and area and the migrant community attended, many following concerns about the recent EU referendum conclusion.

Ms Smith said that there has been concern about the rise in hate crime nationally, but said that Police statistics show no rise in Exeter, East and Mid Devon, including Crediton.

She said she was available to give advice on how to report any such crime and reassured those at the meeting that it would be dealt with professionally.

Ms Smith added that a couple of issues were raised but Police had not previously been informed so there were no records.

Police Sergeant Dave MacFadden, the Neighbourhood Team Leader for Crediton and Cullompton, recently stressed to the communities in Crediton: “Following the European Union referendum result some communities both nationally and locally may be having feelings of heightened anxiety, particularly after seeing incidents of hostility in other areas of the country, which have been reported in the media.

“At this time in the Devon and Cornwall area we have only had a small number of related hate crimes/incidents reported to us as a force.

“We have also spoken to our partner agencies in relation to this subject and they have informed us that their clients have reported a small number of unacceptable incidents to them but they have not reported these incidents to the police.

“I would like to stress that as yet none of those incidents that have occurred or been reported have taken place in the Crediton or Cullompton areas.”