Police / New police chief takes up post in Lerwick
Road safety and tackling drug supply are among the priorities for new Shetland area commander chief inspector Chris Sewell
SHETLAND’s new police chief is settling into his job in Lerwick – with his overarching priority being to keep people safe.
Chief inspector Chris Sewell took up the area commander post earlier this month after the departure of Stuart Clemenson, who moved onto a new job in Inverness.
He comes to Shetland from Ayrshire, and his wife has taken up a job teaching chemistry at the Anderson High School in Lerwick.
Sewell – who has a background in community policing – first joined the service in the west of Scotland in 2004, when he was 19.
Speaking to Shetland News, the new area commander said road safety and road crime is a key priority locally.
“There is far too many folk driving under the influence of drink and drugs in Shetland, and that’s something that we do need to take action on,” he said.
Sewell added that local officers will be trained in drug swipes for driving under the influence of drugs, which Sewell described as a “big step forward in terms of road safety”.
When asked what more can be done regarding drink driving, the new area commander said it is a “mixture of education and enforcement”.
Sewell said drink drivers are risking their own lives as well as the lives of others.
Another priority is tackling drug supply.
“I worked in plain clothes policing when I was younger in service, I’ve seen the harm that drugs can do to communities,” Sewell said.
He said drug supply can target the “most vulnerable in our communities”.
“Last Friday I had a meeting with the Dogs Against Drugs charity, and I’m really keen to support them as Dogs Against Drugs do an incredible job on this island,” Sewell said.
“They are a unique community asset here that we don’t have anywhere else. I’ll be looking to work closely in partnership with the charity and look to detect and disrupt those involved in the supply of controlled drugs.”
He added that there are “drugs in every community in Scotland – Shetland isn’t unique to that”.
But Sewell said in Shetland there is a “fairly well established” connection between police and the community when it comes to providing information.
“What we rely on to target drugs and drug dealers is community intelligence,” he added.
“We need that trust and confidence in the police to come forward and give us information.”
Meanwhile police staffing numbers in Shetland has caused concern previously.
Sewell said Police Scotland “in general have been asked to do more with less at the minute”.
He said there has been a reduction in around 600 officers across Scotland in recent years, but “thankfully Shetland has maintained pretty healthy officer numbers throughout that period”.
“But there are issues and challenges in relation to recruitment and rendition of officers,” Sewell added.
“But that’s not unique. That is an issue that Police Scotland is generally facing – how do we recruit and retain a younger a generation, how do we make policing appealing to new officers?”
It comes as cases continue to come through Lerwick Sheriff Court which involving assaults against police.
This is another issue which has caused concern with both Sheriff Ian Cruickshank as well as the chairman of Shetland’s community safety and resilience board, councillor Allison Duncan.
Sewell said assaults on police officers are “completely unacceptable”.
But he added that there has been a “change of culture” over the years in the police force regarding supporting officers who have been subjected to assault.
“The chief constable has been very vocal about that and there’s a lot of work underway within the organisation to support officers that have become the victim of police assaults,” Sewell added.
“We’re much better at supporting officers who have been the victim of assaults, and we have to support in Shetland the criminal justice partners to make sure that those who do assault police officers face justice.”
He said court punishment is part of the solution “but if somebody’s under the influence of drink or drugs I don’t know at that moment they’re considering the penalty further down the line”.
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