THE safety of Christchurch residents will be in fresh hands as a new inspector arrives at Christchurch Police Station.

Inspector Lance Cliff will take over the from Insp Andy Earley, who will now be tasked with developing links at Bournemouth Airport.

As Christchurch’s section commander, Inspector Earley oversaw a 56 per cent drop in dwelling burglary with the theft of motor vehicles also down by 44 per cent.

He was also recognised for his success in partnership working by winning the Diversity in the Community award at the annual county awards ceremony.

His replacement, Inspector Cliff joined Dorset Police in 1992 from British Transport Police in London and has worked in many different roles throughout the county as well as the professional standards department, where he dealt with complaints against police officers and staff.

Inspector Cliff, who is married and has three children, said: “We have got a varying population in the borough, a large proportion who are elderly and sometimes feel more vulnerable.

“Therefore we have to be in tune with the demands and the needs of both ends of the age spectrum.

“I have been a police officer for more than 20 years now and with my policing experience I have completed many different roles within crime investigation and also work around crime reduction and looking at plans and areas where we can actually reduce criminal offending and impact upon people.

“What I want to bring is the right balance of policing to meet all the needs and the demands in the varying population, whether people live, work, study or visit the area.

“We want to build upon the ongoing work of Inspector Earley and other predecessors and therefore, need the support of our partners and members of the public in order to keep the area as one of the safest in the country.”