Ayrshire's new top cop vows to keep streets safe

May 14 2008 Ayrshire Post

POLICE in Ayrshire have a new man at the helm.

Chief superintendent Bill Fitzpatrick has taken over responsibility for policing across the county.

The move comes after Hamish Cormack was promoted to the post of assistant chief constable (personnel) and moved to force HQ in Glasgow.

Mr Fitzpatrick joined the police in 1982 and pounded the beat in Ayrshire as a constable, before being promoted to sergeant in North Lanarkshire six years later.

In 1992 he was promoted again to inspector and based at the Scottish Police College, Tulliallan, where he spent three years.

Mr Fitzpatrick held other positions in the force before he took another step up the ladder to chief inspector in 2001 and superintendent in 2003.

In 2005 he was promoted to acting superintendent and in 2007 completed the senior command course and led the force headquarters review.

And he is delighted to make a return to Ayrshire as divisional commander responsible for policing for the whole of Ayrshire.

He explained: “I look forward to maintaining the outstanding performance of the division and to building upon it by devoting more resources to the delivery of policing that people can see and experience first hand.

“I am motivated by the need to make communities safer. I will be maximising uniformed patrol presence in the streets and public spaces of Ayrshire.

“As we move forward I will commit more resources to neighbourhood based policing teams. Those offices will be allowed the time to become established and well known within the neighbourhoods they police.”

Superintendent John Hazlett remains as sub-divisional commander in charge of policing in South Ayrshire.