A "communication issue" stopped a Falmouth police officer from attending an incident in which a man was shouting abuse at shop staff and damaging property.
On Thursday (January 24) a man started abusing staff at The Bosun's Locker Chandlery on Church Street and damaging shelves.
Alan Parmenter, who owns the shop, said that 999 was called and the call handler told staff that police would not attend as the man had by then already left the premises. But PC Matt Cummins, from Falmouth Police, told town councillors that he would have attended the incident if he had known about it.
He said: "We are clearly not getting that message. There's obviously a communication issue here, I would have gone down to that incident."
When the Packet spoke to a Devon and Cornwall Police spokesperson, they assured us that "matters will always be flagged for the local neighbourhood teams, regardless if it’s not deemed suitable for an immediate response unit to attend."
Sector Inspector John Hannaford, said: "I appreciate how crimes such as anti-social behaviour and shoplifting can cause upset, especially to businesses working hard to make a living. But we do need to keep in mind that crime is low in the area, and Falmouth remains both a great place to visit and to live."
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