A FAMILIAR face in the blue uniform has officially taken the reins of New England after getting the tick of approval from the police commissioner.
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Former Oxley duty officer and relieving Superintendent Fred Trench has been handed the role of Commander, after 18 months filling in the chair.
The new role sees him take charge of all policing in the New England – a command that spans more than 31,000 square kilometres and boasts 13 different police stations.
And it’s the great divide which is part of the appeal of policing in the western region for this police officer.
“It is very different, you are more involved in the community, which is a positive thing, and it gives you more of a sense of ownership,” he told The Leader.
“Quiet often when I am out and about, and driving in the Command, I think of my Sydney counterparts driving along a busy freeway or congested road.”
Since graduating from the police academy in 1982, Superintendent Trench has worked on the beat in Kogarah, the Central Coast, the former Central Police Station in Sydney, as well as detective roles in Darlinghurst, Kings Cross and the Criminal Investigation Branch.
In that time he investigated numerous murder cases in the homicide squad and various strike forces, but most notably was one of the detectives tasked with solving the John Newman murder in 1998 – Australia’s first political assassination.
Superintendent Trench notched up 33 years in the force last Sunday and has already hit the ground running, with plans to home in on property and drug crime.
“There is definitely a direct link between drugs and property crime and the command will continue to have that focus on drug crime,” he said.
“We are starting to suffer from a lot of property crime and opportunistic crime such as break-and-enters.
“I want to focus on educating the community about security and cutting down the opportunity for crime to occur.”
His predecessor, Superintendent Bruce Lyons, championed community policing, rallying the members of the community together in the bid to work with officers – something he plans to build on.
“I’m going to make an effort to get out and about as much as possible with the community,” he said.
“I’ve also got a substantial background in criminal investigation that will be a focus’ along with crime prevention,” Superintendent Trench said.
He said he was lucky to land in a “well-run” command with many community-minded and driven police who go the extra mile.
