COMMUNITY DRIVEN IS AIM OF NEW SUPT
NEW SUPERINTENDENT WANTS MORE VISIBLE POLICING ON STREETS
CARRICK-ON-SHANNON native, Ray McMahon is Sligo Garda Station’s new Superintendent and he has told The Sligo Champion he intends creating a more visible presence on the street with an emphasis also on community policing.
Supt McMahon (47) officially takes over in the post on Thursday and replaces the recently retired Supt. Mary Murray.
The new Superintendent spent a good deal of his career in the Longford/Westmeath Division and also in inner city Dublin where he worked in plain clothes and drugs units. He also spent some time in the Cavan/Monaghan Division.
It was also in the midlands where he first got involved in community policing and this is an area in which he hopes to place emphasis as he sets to make his mark on the his new position in Sligo.
He’s no stranger to Sligo, having been an Inspector attached to the Assistant Commissioner’s office for the Northern Region on Pearse Road since 2010.
He has been a Superintendent since 2013 and his work involved heading up the regional traffic for the Northern Region and also being part of the team of high ranking officers appointed to Risk Compliance and Continuous Improvement Offices tasked also with modernising the police force, a position he will continue to hold.
Supt McMahon says he is looking forward to the challenge ahead in Sligo and in particular to meeting the community.
“Its people and various leaders I genuinely look forward to meeting and to get a sense of the issues they have and to see where I can help them,” he told The Sligo Champion.He added that the role of the force primarily was as guardians of the peace and he would endeavour to keep crime as low as he could and to address the primary issues affecting the town.
“Having worked here for quite some time I am familiar with Sligo and would have a sense of awareness of the issues we have facing us but I’m looking forward to getting a more in depth knowledge of these matters. In general, I have always thought a high visible presence in a community is very important and being accountable to the community is also important so that their fears and concerns are addressed,” said Supt McMahon.
He comes to the post at a time when Gardaí only recently staged a walkout over the poor condition of the Garda Station in Sligo and Supt McMahon is anxious that the planned refurbishment works get underway as soon as possible.
“Certainly, the first phase will endeavour to get the standard of the station up to being as good as possible for both the public and primarily for the Gardaí who work here on a daily basis,” he said.