Policing here comes with challenges but we are all ready to take them on
Lanarkshire has a new divisional police commander, with Chief Superintendent Alan Waddell having taken up the post as the county’s top officer.
The 42-year-old started his role at the head of Q Division earlier this month, and is now at the helm of the secondlargest division in Police Scotland.
It covers a population of more than 630,000 people spread over an 896 square mile area, with officers in the four area commands attending, on average, more than 4000 incidents per week.
He told the Wishaw Press: “I’ve been really fortunate to be chosen to come to Lanarkshire Division and I’m really pleased to be here.
“I’m coming to a good division and I’ve already seen that my officers are making a real difference out in communities – people speak really highly of Lanarkshire and my predecessor, Roddy Irvine, has left a whole host of really good work in this area.
“Lanarkshire is a really good reflection of Scotland as a whole. It’s got big industry, urban challenges, rural communities; it’s an ambitious area in terms of employment and progress, it’s had the attraction of the recent European Championships and has two Premiership football clubs – so there’s a really interesting blend of policing challenges across the division.”
Chief Superintendent Waddell has been a police officer for almost 22 years, originally joining Central Scotland Police – in what is now the Forth Valley Division – and worked in a variety of roles, including CID, road policing and emergency planning, going on to become area commander for Falkirk.
He was then promoted to superintendent and worked in a series of corporate roles.
Now he is addressing Lanarkshire division’s identified priorities of counter-terrorism and serious violent crime and public protection, serious organised crime and drugs, anti-social behaviour and hate crime, road safety, acquisitive crime, public confidence and local engagement.
He said: “These were arrived at via public consultation and represent the issues communities have told us matter most to them.
“They all apply in different ways in different parts of the community; there will be some areas where violent crime might be really prevalent, others where it might be road safety.
“Lanarkshire has an interesting blend of urban and rural, so perhaps violence isn’t as prevalent in our rural communities but other crimes there can have a significant impact.
“It’s about focusing on the right areas across the division, not in a one-sizefits-all way. Police Scotland is really trying to push out local approaches to policing, giving people like me as commander the autonomy to see what’s happening and the right way to deal with it.”
Chief Superintendent Waddell is now working with the county’s four area commanders to find out about their local initiatives.
The divisional commander said: “There’s been close partnership working with University Hospital Wishaw. This has led to a reduction in reports of high-risk missing people from the hospital through improved use of combined resources, including officers specifically assigned to the campus.
“Suicide prevention has been at the forefront of our priorities recently, following the tragic deaths of young men in Wishaw.
“North Lanarkshire Council led strategy groups which involved police officers and healthcare representatives offering combined prevention advice to affected communities.
“In the lead up to the recent European Championships rowing and triathlon at Strathclyde Park, there was a trend of calls for the park and surrounding areas regarding anti-social behaviour from persons on dirt bikes and quads. With partners we were able to swiftly tackle the issue, resulting in a vast reduction in calls of this nature.”
Chief Superintendent Waddell added of his return to an operational role: “It’s been really refreshing; I had a fantastic time doing the corporate jobs because you learn a whole lot, but you can never forget that the operational bit is what the job is all about.”