Lewisham's new police chief Russell Nyman says role is highlight of career so far (From This Is Local London)

Lewisham's new police chief Russell Nyman says role is highlight of career so far

4:37pm Tuesday 11th September 2012 in News By Sarah Trotter

Lewisham's new top cop Chief Superintendent Russell Nyman says the role is the highlight of his career so far

LEWISHAM’S new top cop says his role as borough commander is the highlight of his career so far.

Chief Superintendent Russell Nyman – who worked for 27 years with Kent constabulary – took over from Chief Superintendent Jeremy Burton on August 27.

Out of uniform, the 47-year-old says he enjoys socialising, running, and a "good night out" with a meal and a drink.

Mr Nyman, who lives in Kent, has previously been a detective, deputy commander of Medway and - most recently – Detective Superintendent at Kent.

He spent five years as head of a  crime reduction team and investigated a lot of murders as well as being involved in cracking the botched raid of the Millenium Dome in 2000.

When asked what the best thing in his career to date was, Chief Supt Nyman told News Shopper: "To get this post here is an honour and a privilege.

"It is a sought-after position and I understand the weight of expectation that comes with that in terms of serving the public.

"I am really excited about this position - I feel passionate about it and I aim to deliver."

His top priorities for the borough are to reduce and detect crime and continue the recent downward trend in knife and gun offences.

Chief Supt Nyman said: "I am obviously a big supporter of the commisioner’s ‘total policing’ model.

"But specifically to Lewisham, I want to reduce crime, detect crime and provide a first-class service to the public in Lewisham. That underpins it for me.

"We can’t do that on our own though and need to work with our partners and of course the public and the various sections of this diverse community here – it is important to understand their various needs.

"There are 18 wards and they have all got different priorities – it’s not a one-size-fits-all."

Chief Superintendent Nyman says he wants to hear from the community and listen to any concerns.

He said: "I am accessible to the public – I want to be contacted. People can do this through Safer Neighbourhood teams, Twitter, social media.

"We have a good idea of what is going on, but I want to hear about concerns and I will respond.

"Jeremy Burton improved performance substantially. He has left a well maintained, well run and very engaged staff. It is a really good place to be.

"There are various areas we can improve. We will try to do the best we can. But we are mature enough to realise sometimes we haven’t done that and we want to know about how we can improve."