THE new heads of response policing and the town centre have vowed to work together in the fight to keep crime down.

Chief Inspector Keith Ewart, now responsible for co-ordinating police response to emergencies in the town, and Inspector Adrian Burt, in command of the town centre neighbourhood policing team, took over their roles this week.

On Wednesday, the Adver revealed crime, in particular violence, has dropped overall year-on-year across Swindon, while anti-social behaviour spiked in certain areas.

Chief Insp Ewart, who has spent most of his 18 years’ service in Swindon, said he wanted to work closely with the neighbourhood teams.

“My role is ensuring officers get to 999 calls and maintaining our targets on response times, which is 15 minutes for a critical incident in the town centre,” he said.

“In addition to that response will be supporting our neighbourhood teams to help them meet the priorities they have.

“I want to reinforce how safe Swindon is – there has been a significant drop in violence and we are all committed to pushing that down further.

“The key priority for me on response is to find new ways to support our neighbourhoods and I think that relates to how we deploy resources and record what we are doing.

“For example, we expect a seasonal spike in crime with the warmer weather and we are taking measures to prevent it. Our officers are doing a great job and we are always looking to make it better. Having spent the majority of my career in Swindon I know the people and I get the town.”

The latest figures, which deal with incidents between March 2011 and February 2012, show an eight per cent decrease in crime overall but a 20 per cent spike in anti-social behaviour town-wide compared with the same period for the previous year.

The town centre appeared to suffer the brunt of the increased nuisance, registering 881 more ASB incidents while North, West and East police sectors also saw a rise in the volume of ASB reports.

Insp Burt moved across to the town centre from the West Swindon neighbourhood team. He is also a trained Public Order Bronze Commander, allowing him to take charge at football matches and other major events.

“I am really looking forward to working within Central Swindon. I have spent a numbers of years within neighbourhood policing, working with the community and our partners to find sustainable solutions to issues that really affect people’s lives,” he said.

“I will bring my experience from West Swindon to build on the fantastic work that has already been done within Central Swindon.”