Safety is top of the agenda for area's new police chief

Chief Inspector Gerry 
Corrigan this week became the police local area commander, taking over from Chief Inspector Craig Smith.

He says his top concerns will be the safety and wellbeing of local people and the community at large.

Chief Inspector Corrigan is well known in the area as 
a much respected former 
Police Sergeant and Inspector, and has strong family links locally.

He has also held a number of other important roles in the force across Glasgow and nationally.

The new CI told the Herald: “ Feedback from the community tells us that our priorities are tackling anti-social behaviour, housebreaking, drug dealing and violent crime and I, of course, will continue to focus on these areas.

“In addition to local policing teams who respond to calls from the public 24 hours of every day in the year, I have two teams of officers located across East Dunbartonshire dedicated to tackling specific issues within communities.

“This means I can quickly respond to ongoing community concerns from the public and work to resolve these issues to a long term solution.

“A number of my officers are also embedded within communities, often using 
the space offered by the new fantastic community hubs.

“This allows us to work with partners in areas of most need to improve the overall quality of life there and become a recognised figure within the community.

“It’s a very exciting time for me within East Dunbartonshire. We are about to start a building programme at Kirkintilloch Police Office that will enable East Dunbartonshire Council staff, such as Community Wardens and Trading Standards staff, to move in beside us. This will help us work together to tackle issues affecting communities.

“Looking wider, it’s also a very exciting time within policing in general as we look to the future and how we will shape ourselves.

“I’d really like people to give us their views on this. They can do it at https://consult.scotland.police.uk/consultation/2026/.

“I’d also like people to be aware of the variety of work we do and get involved in.

“The best way to do this is to follow us on twitter @EastDunb Police and the pages and website of the Kirkintilloch Herald.

“I’m really excited about the opportunities to improve the safety and wellbeing of the people and places of East Dunbartonshire and feel very privileged to have been appointed to this role. East Dunbartonshire is a great place in which to work, live and visit.”