CHESHIRE’S new Police and Crime Commissioner has started his new job on a whirlwind tour of frontline policing.

David Keane listened in to 101 and 999 calls at the force’s control centre, went on foot patrol and joined officers monitoring pubs and bars.

“It’s about understanding the complexity of modern policing”, said Mr Keane, 37, from Penketh.

“Listening to calls from people in distress I’d like to recognise the call takers who do a wonderful job providing reassurance to victims in very challenging circumstances.

“I was amazed by the complexity of issues the call handlers had to deal with and the split second decisions they were making.”

The law graduate has served as a Warrington councillor for 17 years.

“Much of policing is about being visible and approachable so walking the beat was very useful as building proper neighbourhood policing is one of my pledges,” said Mr Keane.

“The hours I spent late on Friday night walking in some of the busier areas of Warrington enabled me to understand better the issues facing our communities in busy night life areas and how police are tackling these.”

Mr Keane is spending his first days meeting officers and police staff, before embarking on tour of the county where he will be listening to the views of the Cheshire public, businesses and visitors on how policing can better meet their needs.

“I’m determined to get out and about to listen to the views of the public, community leaders, businesses and so on, building on the pledges that I made during the election to build neighbourhood policing, get more police officers on our streets, and to improve community engagement,” he added.

“I will be announcing in the next couple of weeks a series of listening events over the summer and autumn, to help shape my police and crime plan.”