THE new area police commander for Marlborough, Insp Jerry Dawson, is planning to make the police more accessible across the district.

One innovation will be the introduction of regular police surgeries in the major villages where officers will be available to meet residents and discuss issues of concern.

Insp Dawson, whose last job was in the force control room in Devizes, also wants to open up the police station in Marlborough to make it more user friendly.

He is planning to have uniformed officers available on demand at the police station for callers who want to speak to a policeman rather than one of the civilian reception staff.

Insp Dawson has swapped jobs with Insp Bill Dowling, who is now working in the HQ control room after four years as the police commander in Marlborough.

Having started in his new post only at the beginning of the month Insp Dawson, who has been in the Wiltshire force since 1978, said it was too early to talk of introducing any major changes in the sub division.

He was a plain clothes officer for 19 years with Wiltshire CID, the regional crime squad and the national crime squad.

Insp Dawson is a believer in basic policing and having his officers touring their beat areas and meeting the public.

This week he spent some time on the beat in Aldbourne and Ogbourne St George meeting villagers and hearing any concerns and is planning to visit other villages as time permits.

One of his previous roles in the force was setting up a specialised crime reduction unit and he is intent, he said, on reducing crime in the Marlborough area, although it is at a low level already.

He said that from his past work as a detective sergeant for the Kennet district he knew the Marlborough area well.

The Wiltshire-born inspector said: "I intend to be out and about in the area and get to know people and I want my officers to do the same."

One kind of crime the former drugs squad officer is determined to come down on heavily, he warned, is the pushing of illegal drugs.