Top cop Alastair believes in no-nonsense approach (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Top cop Alastair believes in no-nonsense approach

INSPECTOR Alistair Stenner, the new "top cop" in the north Cotswolds, believes his role is to help improve the quality of life for people on his patch.

Whether that means tackling anti-social behaviour, car crime or burglary, Insp Stenner is convinced that a no-nonsense approach pays dividends.

"Crime levels are low, it's a lovely place to live and there is a good quality of life," he says of his new territory - the North Cotswold Inspector Neighbourhood Area (INA).

"It's about tackling issues that arise positively. I have always had proactive roles and it's important to me, if we have a problem, we deal with it robustly."

Insp Stenner, aged 34, moved from Stroud at the beginning of this month in a straight job swap with former incumbent, Insp Bridget Woodhall.

He was promoted to inspector last August when he moved to Stroud and is clearly ambitious to build a long-lasting career with Gloucestershire Constabulary.

He joined the police force as a probationer in Cirencester 11 years ago and since then has had a number of different jobs in various parts of the county including Gloucester city centre, as a sergeant in the control room, a duty sergeant in Cheltenham, a spell in Tewkesbury and a member of CID, investigating hate crime and domestic violence.

He jumped at the chance of the move to the north Cotswolds - "it was what I wanted"- and clearly feels it is a homecoming.

His real home is perhaps less easy to define for the son of a Forces' father, who was born in Hong Kong, before his dad eventually ended up at GCHQ in Cheltenham.

"Cheltenham and Gloucestershire are my family base," says the inspector, who lives in Cheltenham with wife Hayley, eight-year-old son Jordan and six-month-old twin daughters Tegan and Charlotte.

Insp Stenner is no archetypal PC Plod, having a degree in geography and economics from Swansea University and a Masters degree in geographical information systems from Strathclyde University.

So why did he opt for a career as police officer?

"Lots of family friends were in the police. I had grown up with it as an idea in the back of my head. The police used to run a two-day familiarisation course. I went on one, thoroughly enjoyed it and thought that's the job for me," he says.

Despite the low crime levels in his INA, he knows he won't be sitting around kicking his heels.

"There is crime up here, otherwise I wouldn't be here. The thing that strikes me is that there are, perhaps, very few criminals who live in the area. There are elements of people travelling to the area to commit crime. That gives you different challenges to a patch where you know who the criminals are," he says.

Although people regularly complain about a lack of police presence, Insp Stenner says he has "excellent resources", not only within the patch, but also with the back-up that is available through the priority policing team in Cirencester, the community support unit and the burglary squad.

His new role sees him doing the rounds of town and parish councils, explaining to local councillors how he plans to tackle crime and what crime issues they think need tackling.

"I would like to think I'm approachable and accessible," he says.

As part of his accessibility, he is happy for people to contact him at Stow police station on 01242 276602, though he might not always be there as he is determined not to remain office-bound.