The title of Chief Inspector has a certain ring to it, and claiming the prestigious rank comes at a coincidental time in Glenn Blain’s 30-year career.
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Inspector Blain started his new position as Officer in Charge at Maitland on Monday – a day before he notched up seven years as an Inspector, qualifying him for the rank of Chief.
“I’ve always had a desire to see the right thing done,” Inspector Blain said. “I’m happy to continue to do a service to the community of New South Wales and now particularly Maitland and surrounding areas.”
Inspector Blain was appointed to the new job as part of a state-wide restructure of the force, in which Maitland moved from the now defunct Central Hunter local area command into a new Port Stephens/Hunter police district.
As opposed to the former duty officer position, which was rotated between several people, Inspector Blain oversees the station’s operations on his own.
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He will work with the District Commander and two District Inspectors, who are mainly based at Raymond Terrace. But Inspector Blain’s focus is solely on Maitland, and he stressed that Maitland people would continue to be served by Maitland officers under the new model.
“The busiest sector in the district is still Maitland,” he said. “The number of operational staff rostered there has not reduced.”
Having worked in the Lower Hunter for 14 years, Inspector Blain said he had seen Maitland’s population grow and flourish, which has led to a shift from a rural-style police response to an urban one.
That, he said, had brought pressures of providing a consistent and timely response to the community.
But he said the force had achieved some recent wins in problem crimes such as theft from vehicles and vehicle theft, which he expected to continue.
“We’re going to continue to try and make inroads into crime,” he said. “It’s business as usual for us.”
Officers in Charge have also been appointed to Raymond Terrace and Nelson Bay in the Port Stephens/Hunter District.
The district is set to receive an additional 10 frontline positions in the near future, which are currently being recruited for.