EAST LANCASHIRE’S latest top cop is set to revamp his senior leadership team to ensure the individual needs of the area are recognised.

Former firearms boss Chief Superintendent Matt Horn is the area’s newest divisional commander, taking over the role from Superintendent Damian Darcy in May and has already said his officers are amongst the best in the business.

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And as part of a new ‘place-based leadership’ strategy, which is set to be rolled out across the rest of the county, Det Chf Insp Jill Johnson and Insp Hassan Khan have returned to East Lancashire having worked elsewhere and Chf Insp John Bullas has been added to the team.

Supt Darcy has taken up a new role as East Lancashire’s organisational development and local policing superintendent after a temporary stint as divisional commander.

Chf Supt Horn said: “East Division policing wise has a really good reputation. Some of the officers here are some of the best in the business. There is a real credibility and a sense of desire to keep the communities safe and to put the bad guys in prison.

“There’s a real sense of a rich heritage over here amongst the communities and whilst my role covers Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Rossendale Pendle, the Ribble Valley and Hyndburn to me it’s one division but there are real local elements.

“I’m really keen we recognise that localism in the way we deliver our service. One of the things we’re looking to do now is look at a ‘place-based leadership’.

“I’m building a team around me - a lot of the people will stay the same but we’ve got some new members of the team in terms of public safety.

“People shouldn’t see a change in terms of their neighbourhood policing teams or the response they get if they ring us on 101 or 999 but the leadership will just look a little bit different.

“The commitment we’re offering going forward is around three things.

“The first being 24/7 response policing. If you ring us and you need us and it’s something we can come and help with then and there we’ll come.

“The other thing we’re committed to is local policing or neighbourhood policing as it’s also called. The third thing is tackling serious crime. They’re the three pillars we hang everything off what we do.”

Chf Supt Horn, who is married with four children, said he was working to provide the best value for money police service but that was being hindered by austerity cuts.

He said: “What people have to be clear about is we will not get back to the level of officers we had pre-austerity.

“We are now recruiting so an overall number of 200 will come in over the next few years but that will be offset against the number of officers leaving on retirement and different things.

“The austerity question hasn’t gone away. The constabulary still needs to find a significant amount of money in the next four years in to 2020.

“That’s potentially in the region of £10million to £13million depending what happens with economic and political decisions over the coming years.

“Having said that we also need to ensure we are getting the best value for money to maximise the amount of officers we can get out there working for the public of East Lancashire.

“There is an estate review ongoing to make sure that our buildings are still fit for purpose and what investment is needed in them. But essentially what we have got at the moment is three main operating bases for our response officers, which are Blackburn, Burnley and Colne. Those are going to stay for now.” We’ve got custody sites at Burnley and Greenbank. They’re going to stay for now. But as part of the overall review right across the county we will be looking at what provision we have got for buildings and also what provision we have got for pubic contact.”

Chf Supt Horn joined the police in 1991 and walked the beat in Lancaster in Morecambe.

During his time in the force he has worked in immediate response, neighbourhood policing, the operational support unit, and after several promotions became the head of firearms training.

He has also worked out of the force’s Wharton base looking at the police’s response to austerity and organisational development and as staff officer for Chief Constable Steve Finnigan and his last role before becoming East Lancashire’s chief superintendent was operations manager at Preston.