Harrogate has a new District Commander, picking up the reigns for policing in the district.
Supt Paula Booth has taken over from Supt Mike Walker with responsibility for the delivery of policing services in Harrogate, Craven, Skipton, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Pately Bridge, Hambleton and Richmondshire. Supt Walker has now moved to a new role at the North Yorkshire Police HQ, being the operational technology lead.
Originally from Northern Ireland, Supt Booth brings over 24 years of policing experience, having worked in numerous roles including CID, neighbourhood policing, safeguarding, firearms and as public order command. She transferred from West Yorkshire before transferring to North Yorkshire in July this year.
Supt Booth said:
Policing in Harrogate District delivers some excellent performance. There is some outstanding partnership working that has contributed to Harrogate being a really safe place to live.
That doesn’t mean there is time for complacency and there is always room for improvement. I am very focused on our operational delivery and getting results by working with our partners and the community I serve.
For example, in the last 24 hours the district has seen a couple of opportunistic burglaries that could have been avoided with people taking some basic precautions. All those incidents are currently being investigated, but we will also look at working even more with the public in what they can do to avoid similar incidents.
Cross-border crimes will also be a focus of my work and we need to make sure that Harrogate is not easy pickings for travelling criminals.
Harrogate is a beautiful town with a great community, a community that I am look forward in getting to know and to work with in the months and years ahead.
