MEETING the needs of the most rural and remote communities is a top priority for the new top police officer in Helensburgh, Argyll and West Dunbartonshire.

Chief Superintendent Hazel Hendren only took on the role in June - but she's already embarked on a mission to ensure the force is prepared to tackle all the challenges faced by the diverse range of communities.

And she'll be taking the lead from the residents themselves to determine the areas for improvement and what her officers are doing right.

She told the Advertiser: "People in the community were aware that the inspector had moved on, and we just recently appointed Inspector Matt Webbe.

"That's exciting and I know he's looking forward to the new challenges.

"People are really interesting in policing here."

Since taking on the new role as divisional commander for West Dunbartonshire, Argyll and Bute just eight weeks ago she has been spending her time getting used to the challenges of the area, such as the vast geographical size of her patch which stretches across 2950 square miles or the recent spate of trafficking incidents which specialist officers have been offering advice on as part of the national Police Scotland crackdown.

But with 27 years of experience behind her, Chief Supt Hendren – who was appointed after the retirement of Chief Supt Grant Manders – is no stranger to the difficulties faced by officers, and her first priority in the job is making sure her team are equipped to handle them all.

She said: "I realise that the role I've got now is going to be quite different.

"I have to make sure that I recognise that one model doesn't fit all so I will be focusing on real localism and what the different communities need from the police."

She added: "I'm delighted to be here. It's a huge privilege and honour to be a divisional commander anyway – there's only 13 in the whole of Scotland - but this has given me the opportunity of an urban area but also the rural areas."

As Police Scotland's only female commander, Chief Supt Hendren has hit the ground running – making a point of meeting as many community members as possible in a bid for validation and to ensure her L division team are working the way she expects.

And so far, she has been pleasantly surprised by how well the force operates in the area as it strives to protect and serve the 182,000 people who call her patch home.

"Some of the things that have surprised me are the really excellent working relationships here with the community partners and being able to have time to reflect really impressed me," she said, "so I've got to thank and be grateful to Grant Manders."

One aspect of the role she is familiar with is the issues and desires felt by the multiple communities across the region, which mirror the Glasgow-based community she has served for the past two decades.

She said: "That's one thing that doesn’t change, the priorities of the community.

"Even when you go to the rural and remote places, people are still concerned with anti-social behaviour, drug dealing, dangerous driving and the like.

"We're working with the community planning partnerships and looking at the LOIPS (local outcome improvement plan) and what part I play."

She added: "We've looked around the areas were there's growth or any threat.

"We have processes in place to assign the services to meet those demands.

"Crime in general remains at a low level and it's my priority to make sure we retain that level."

Part of ensuring that objective means empowering local officers, whom she describes as experienced, knowledgeable and invested, to carry out their duties on the ground.

Chief Supt Hendren said: "A lot of people that work in this division, live in this division too.

"There's a real local knowledge. People know where the inequalities are.

"What gives me confidence is when I meet councillors and members of the public and people really seem to know their local officers and if they need support it's escalated up to myself."

From handling Bruce Springsteen's Hampden performance to the Scottish Pipe Band Championships in Levengrove Park, there have been a lot of changes for Chief Supt Hendren in the last 12 months.

But her goal for the future is clear – the L division will be leading the way in policing.