POLICE have been accused by a leading Torbay councillor of covering up the true level of crime in the Bay .

Independent councillor for Ellacombe Julien Parrott, who was also a UKIP candidate in the general election, says he fears the Safer Communities partnership is a smokescreen for a poorly performing police force.

His comments came as councillors on Torbay Council's overview and scrutiny board were given an update on the Safer Communities Torbay scheme.

But Torbay's police chief Supt Richard Baker said a lot had been achieved to tackle crime in partnership with other agencies and said recent reductions in violent crime and many other areas had been made.

Cllr Parrot read extracts from a report on the website of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary which inspects policing in the public interest.

The report shows Devon and Cornwall Police has above-average rates of violent crime and antisocial behaviour. The report also says that the force has a below average level of public confidence. Information on the force's crime mapping website also shows that compared to the rest of Devon and Cornwall, Torbay has above-average crime levels.

Violent crime is above average, although the level has decreased since 2009. Antisocial behaviour has also dropped but is still above average for the region. Robbery levels are above average and rose slightly between 2009 and 2010.

Cllr Parrot told fellow councillors he felt there was too much emphasis on combating the perception of crime rather than the reality.

Speaking after the meeting he said: "The police spend a lot of money on public relations. It is about the perception rather than the reality of crime. The locals living in the community know there are problems. I look out my window in Ellacombe and I see all sorts of things going on.

"I question the whole Safer Communities thing. Is it actually delivering? Is it improving things?

"In my view the Safer Community initiative, while well-meaning, serves as a smoke screen for a lack of operational effectiveness on the part of the police. This is outrageous when we consider that police stations are closed most of the time and the precept is very high.

"They are charging the residents more for providing the service and providing less through the police stations. It is my view that police stations should be open 24 hours a day.

"We should go back to having police officers on the front line at the police stations."

And the views were echoed by a police source who told the Herald Express that Devon and Cornwall Police's chief constable, Steven Otter, has told senior officers that line managers should remind staff to be more 'positive and reassuring to the public when dealing with the press'.

The Herald Express asked to speak to Mr Otter but we were told by a police spokesman: "We are not aware of any such communication, verbal or otherwise."

Supt Baker said he was disappointed at the inference that they are not an effective police force.

He said: "We recognise that over the last few years the figures indicate that we do have, in comparison with the rest of the force area, slightly higher levels of violent crime and antisocial behaviour.

"Over the last two years we have seen a reduction in violent crime and most of that is down to the work we are doing with the partnership."

He said they have had success in tackling drugs and drug-related crime as well as antisocial behaviour.

"This has been achieved in partnership with the other agencies," he said.

Supt Baker said the force had been trying to "engage with the community to reassure them about the level of crime and what we are doing to tackle it".

"It is about trying to get people to become more confident in the police and partner agencies ability to effectively deal with the issues that they have highlighted to us," he said.

Fran Hughes, Torbay Council's executive head of community safety, said at the overview and scrutiny meeting: "The police and the council are equally responsible for antisocial behaviour in the area and they are meeting their targets."

Cllr Louisa Aiton, Torbay Council cabinet member for community safety and community engagement, said following the meeting: "Julien forgets that Safer Communities Torbay is a partnership between six bodies, including the police and the council he represents, and it's had a lot of success in continuing to reduce anti-social behaviour and violent crime.

"The latest figures I have from the Home Office show a 12-per-cent drop in violent crime against people in Torbay during 2008/09 and an 18-per-cent drop in robberies. Both decreases are better than the Devon and Cornwall average. I feel his remarks about Devon and Cornwall Police are wrong.

"There may be some people whose experience of crime in Torbay has been distressing, but the figures for Torbay show a safer and more pleasant place to live."