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Devon
County News
2009/2010
Historically in Devon much of the High Sheriff’s time used to be spent being involved with the High Court Judges. This has reduced very considerably so that this year a High Court Judge sat once only in Exeter and once in Plymouth.
I had two ‘special projects’ that I wanted to focus on. The first was to bring together those organisations who had the responsibility for caring for vulnerable young people on the edge of society usually in towns (Probation, Youth Offending teams, Drop-in centres) with those organisations in the countryside who either organised or welcomed visits from such youngsters. Farms for City Children, for example, do excellent work. I organised a seminar with representatives from a number of relevant organisations including Farming and Countryside Education (FACE), Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) and National Care Farming Initiative (UK) (NCFI). It provided an excellent forum for the exchange of ideas.
 My second area of focus was to reach out, through the Office of High Sheriff, to those more recent arrivals in Devon. This included officiating at a Citizenship Ceremony, attending the opening of a refugee support centre, visiting a mosque and presenting a High Sheriff’s award to an individual who had made a particularly impressive contribution to promoting understanding between the Muslims and the wider community in Exeter, scene of an attempted suicide bombing in May 2008.
There were the usual formal occasions (legal and other services; passing out parades etc.) when the wearing of uniform was expected. My initial reluctance to look like a time traveller from the 18th century soon disappeared when I realised that either everyone else was attired in a somewhat ‘over the top’ manner or that the general public, with typical British ‘sang froid’, really couldn’t care less what you are wearing - apart from the youngster in a multi storey car park in Exeter who wanted to know where I had got my sword.
I visited two prisons and got involved with lots of aspects of police work, the probation service, and our Crimebeat charity. In a County with a proud maritime tradition like ours, I was also welcomed by the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines. Amongst many other activities during a very busy year I opened a drug treatment unit in Dartmoor prison and a kitchen in a secure children’s home. On so many occasions I found myself just thanking some of the wonderful people who give great service to the County in what is often an unheralded way. Overall it has been a year which has renewed my faith in what is achieved by the unsung heroes and heroines in our increasingly complex society.
David Fursdon
High Sheriff of Devon 2009/2010
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