THE NEW police chief heading up the force in East Cheshire is Mick Garrihy. He has taken command as chief superintendent to succeed Paul McHugh.

And in his first official statement to the public he made it clear that what matters to the public is what matters to the police.

He said: "We understand and recognise that the issues which affect people’s daily lives are local and up their street.

"They are the priorities in our communities."

Chief Superintendent Garrihy was appointed Area Commander after six weeks as Acting Commander following the retirement of Chief Superintendent Paul McHugh.

He has been a senior officer in East Cheshire for three years.

He said: "We have made substantial progress in reducing burglary and vehicle crime and have had a huge impact on dealing with the individuals that cause the most harm to people.

"This is important part of ensuring that people and their families are safe and feel safe, but it is not the whole answer.

"Our Neighbourhood Policing teams are now well established. We have local officers who know their community and know the people who live, visit and work there.

Priority

"The priority for us is to build on this knowledge to better understand what really matters to people and work with them and other agencies to deal with it. This will be the key to and the measure of our future success.

"We have a contract with the public and that is to keep them informed about what we are doing.

"That is an important factor in maintaining people’s confidence in their local police and building the trust that we need so that the communities in our towns and villages are strong; making them safe places to be and to live in.

"In all of this we rely on the help and support of the public. The information they provide is the basis for the action we take.

"That way we can continue to reduce crime and disorder and make sure people go about their daily lives in east Cheshire with confidence, whether they live here, work here, or are just visiting."