THE new head of policing in Redbridge has spoken of her pride at becoming borough commander and outlined her priorities for the future.

Detective Superintendent Sue Williams started work on Monday (December 13), after spending the last three years as deputy and then acting borough commander in Waltham Forest.

She replaces Chief Superintendent Peter Terry in the top job in Redbridge, after he left to take over the Metropolitan Police's public order branch, CO11.

Det Supt Williams said: “I am immensely proud to have been appointed the borough commander for Redbridge.

“Having spent the past three years on a neighbouring borough in east London, I fully recognise and appreciate the challenges and opportunities Redbridge has to offer.

“I intend to build on the successes of Redbridge and I will continue to review our policing response to ensure it is effective and meets the needs of all our diverse communities.

“My main priorities are tackling violent crime to minimise harm to the community, reducing crime and increasing public confidence.

“I acknowledge that the police cannot do this alone and I will look to build strong sustainable partnerships with our partners, local organisations, and communities to make a real difference to the people of Redbridge.”

Det Supt Williams has been a police officer for more than 28 years and has worked in numerous London boroughs, both as a uniformed officer and in CID.

She also set up the Met's family liaison and was at one point the force's lead officer for domestic violence.

The new borough commander stressed the importance of policing at a local level, and said that this was the key to keeping the public safe and maintaining confidence in the police.

She added: “I will ensure that the role of the police is to provide a service to the community and make wards safer; we will only achieve this through engagement and being accountable to the public.

“I believe that neighbourhood policing is important and that the role of the safer neighbourhood teams is to be accessible, visible and familiar to the community.

“Working side by side with the community in partnership, each safer neighbourhood team will set their local priorities to focus on the issues of greatest concern and to report back through ward panels.

“It is essential to build on our understanding of the different needs of people who live, work or visit the borough. We will be flexible to meet these needs and develop and improve the service we provide to the local community.

“We will need to do this within the context of an uncertain economic climate and the likelihood of significant cuts to public sector budgets but I am confident that we will do a good job and achieve more for less.

“Together we can work to make Redbridge a safer place to live, work and visit.”