THE BLOXIDGE TALLYGRAPH

Chief Superintendent Kevin Bullas, Walsall Police (West Midlands Police) 

Dateline: 16 October 2009

Chris Sims, Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, today announced the appointment of Chief Superintendent Kevin Bullas to take over as the new commander for Walsall borough in April next year. Until then, the existing command structure and staff will remain in situ and will be unaffected.

Under Programme Paragon, a major change programme being undertaken by the force, the current structure of 21 operational command units (OCUs) be replaced in April 2010 by 10 local policing units (LPUs). The LPUs will be aligned to local authority boundaries (or constituency boundaries for Birmingham), assisting assist closer working relationships with partners.

Although the LPUs will be larger, the scope of their work will shrink. Many functions currently carried out by OCUs will move, clearing the way for them to concentrate on improving public confidence and protecting people from harm.

Announcing the new LPU commander for the borough of Walsall, Chief Constable Chris Sims said: “The whole aim of this programme is to improve the service we deliver to the public. By removing some of the functions they currently deliver, they will be able to dedicate their time to doing this, at the same time improving engagement with local communities and working more effectively with partners.

“Given the recent announcements around public finances it is also timely for us to look at how we can streamline our organisation as we move into an uncertain financial future.”

He said frontline services which involve contact with the public, such as neighbourhood policing and police stations, would remain at the very core of the change programme and would not alter.

To help focus the efforts of staff as change takes effect, the traditional methods of measuring crime related targets have already been replaced with a single new measure – increasing public confidence.

Chief Supt Bullas, who is currently head of the Walsall operational command unit, one of two OCUs covering the borough, said: “I am delighted to have been given the opportunity of serving the public and working with the community and partners across the entire borough and hope to continue to develop and drive some of the excellent work which is already taking place.”

Bloxwich Police Station website here.

back to top