MAKING roads and Riverland communities safer for locals are priorities for the region’s new top-ranking police officer.
SAPOL earlier this month announced Superintendent Scott Denny had become the new Murray Mallee officer in charge.
Mr Denny said reducing crime and improving road safety for Riverlanders would be his focus in the role.
“It is an absolute privilege to again be back in a regional policing environment and part of our regional community,” Mr Denny said.
“While the type of work we perform as police doesn’t differ from metro to regional, it is the way in which we police and the additional expectations of regional police that is different.
“Regional communities tend to have a much closer relationship with their local police (and) as such it is important that regional police know their communities well and understand the needs of each community.
“This becomes particularly important when we look at how we can prevent crime and continue to keep our communities safe.”
Mr Denny replaced former Murray Mallee Superintendent James Blandford.
Mr Denny said his past SAPOL experience had included time in the Eyre Peninsula and Yorke Mid North regional areas, plus assisting border closures and quarantine zones caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
“In 2010 I relocated to Whyalla and served as the operations inspector for the Eyre and Western Local Service area, responsible for operational policing across the entire Eyre Peninsula from Whyalla to Pt Lincoln and Ceduna,” he said.
“In 2013 I was promoted to superintendent and became the commander for the Yorke Mid North Local Service Area where I served until the end of 2017.
“In 2018 I relocated back to Adelaide where I spent two years working on a regional review project for SAPOL before COVID hit us in early 2020.
“I was seconded to COVID Operations and established the state’s hard border closures as well as airport operations, and I also managed the policing overlay in the state’s COVID-19 medi-hotels.”