New Area Commander For Down Police

psni_appealChief Inspector Gillian West has been appointed as the new Area Commander for Down.

Chief inspector West takes up the post on 4 August, replacing Chief Inspector Bones who is moving to a position within the PSNI’s Service Improvement Department.

Commenting on her new role, Chief Inspector West said: “I am delighted to be taking on this position and I am firmly committed to ensuring the safety of the people in the Down area.

[caption id="attachment_51068" align="alignleft" width="250"]The new area commander for Down Gillian West will be in post from August. The new area commander for Down Gillian West will be in post from August.[/caption]

“There is an excellent foundation of partnership working in place in this area and I am looking forward to further building on this so that we can continue to deal with the issues that matter most to the local community such as antisocial behaviour and the harm caused by drugs.

“I believe that with the support of the local community, we can increase the effectiveness of officers, reduce the levels of crime and thereby increase public confidence in policing in this area.

“I am sure that while this will also be a challenging role, it will also be very worthwhile and satisfying.”

Chief Inspector West has 15 years service in the RUC/PSNI. She started her career as a probationer Constable in Kilkeel in July 1999 before moving to Strandtown then Headquarters as a Detective Constable.

In 2005, Chief Inspector West was promoted to Sergeant and moved to Newtownabbey as a response officer. She remained there until 2008 when she moved to Newtownards response.

She was promoted to Inspector and took up a post in Policy, Planning and Performance before then becoming Incident Manager in the Incident Co-ordination Centre where she was for 4 years before taking up this position following her promotion to the rank of Chief Inspector. Note to editors:

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