Great pride in taking over role of commander - Emma Croft

It gives me great pride to have assumed this role and I look forward to building on the outstanding work and successes of my predecessor, Chief Superintendent Sean Scott, who is now enjoying retirement after 33 years of dedicated public service.

Becoming Divisional Commander of the Capital is very significant for me, not least because this is my hometown, where I live and raise my family, but because it is the division I began my career with in 2000, and where I have served in various uniformed roles over the years.

I know however that the changing landscape of policing, and the unprecedented level of demand upon us, provides little opportunity for sentimental reflection. I want to therefore make it clear to our communities that my top priority is to ensure that we continue to meet the varied and complex needs of those we serve and to use all resources at our disposal wisely in order to provide the most appropriate and proportionate response whenever we are required.

Chief Superintendent Scott previously spoke at length about the “hard choices” the division, and Police Scotland as a whole, must make in the face of continued demand and ever-tightening budgets and this remains the case. This does, however, provide us with an ideal opportunity to collectively review our demand across the city landscape with partners to consider priority and risk factors and ensure the most appropriate response to calls for service.

The Edinburgh Division Command Team and I will be engaging with colleagues and counterparts from other emergency services, public health and social work, local authority and third sector organisations to explore areas in which Police Scotland can play a supporting role, while others lead in responding. This, in my opinion, is absolutely vital to making sure the public receive the right support from the right agency at the right time.

Of course, there are many areas where it is absolutely right for police to be the lead response agency and communities can rest assured that crime trends identified as a policing priority as a result of our engagement with communities, elected members and key stakeholders will receive the right service from Edinburgh Division. The public can help us shape policing priorities by taking our Your Police survey, which is available on the Police Scotland website at www.scotland.police.uk.

Having served as Silver Commander for a number of high profile events in Edinburgh, I place significant importance in detailed policing plans and positive collaboration and co-operation with partner agencies. I am confident that events such as the Edinburgh International Festival and Fringe, international rugby matches, SPFL matches and festive celebrations will continue to be a great success for Edinburgh and will continue to receive all the necessary support they require from Edinburgh Division.

Divisional Commander, City of Edinburgh, Chief Superintendent Emma Croft