Meet Inspector Heather Sutton, Newark and Sherwood's new police chief

Newark and Sherwood has a new police chief.

Inspector Heather Sutton has worked in several roles within Nottinghamshire Police from neighbourhood policing to oversight of firearms’ incidents in the control room.

Inspector Sutton said the main thing she would bring to the role is consistency as she plans to be in post for some time.

She said she has inherited an experienced and dedicated team of officers and said the partnerships that exist within the area to keep people safe and secure are well-formed and effective.

She said: “My brand of policing will be community-focused. I want to be getting to the root of a problem ­—finding a long-term solution rather than applying a sticking plaster.

“What we think the problem is may not be what the community thinks, so it is about listening, learning and understanding. Two-way communication is vital. We need to be working together.”

Inspector Sutton said the recently-reported rise in crime had been identified, and she was impressed by the analytical work and planning that went into addressing it. She said police were now entering into the enforcement stage.

Inspector Sutton was a neighbourhood policing sergeant in two areas of Nottingham, where a bus was named after her because she jumped into the River Trent to save a woman from drowning.

She has worked with mental health and community resolution. She visits schools as a positive role model for young people and champions how it is possible to have a successful career and be a mum.

She has been seconded to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary as a specialist staff officer for neighbourhoods, antisocial behaviour and partnership work.

Due to her experience, she says she has a knowledge of policing from the initial call to resolution.

One of her first public functions was to lay the Nottinghamshire Police wreath at Remembrance. She described the experience as touching and was impressed by the number of people, young and old, who turned out to pay their respects.

“I have found Newark to be a lovely place,” she said.