It’s been a busy 13 months on the job for the city’s top cop, and Supt Paul McDonald said he’s pleased with where the police district is at.

Supt McDonald said time has flown by since he took over the then Chifley Local Area Command in January 2018.

Under his first year of leadership Supt McDonald has seen a number of changes; the restructure of the NSW Police District saw Chifley Local Area Command  absorb Cowra and Canowindra, and become a police district.

The restructure, occurred just weeks after he took the reins, but he said it was a smooth transition.

“In the restructure Cowra and Canowindra came under Chifley but because of the leadership structure in place the process was seamless.

He said the new areas have fitted well into the command and said the restructure has enabled a better deployment of services but said NSW Police would continue to review how staff are being deployed.

“Its a dynamic environment, there are new things going on and more things in the pipeline, which will benefit the whole state.”

Another development in past 13 months was the introduction of the Regional Enforcement Squad, which he said was a great asset to police.

“Local staff are working in concert with other resources and have been achieving excellent results.

“In particular the high risk DV  [domestic violence] team, based in Dubbo, have been assisting Chifley Police targeting recidivist offenders and people wanted on warrants,” he said.

As to where the police district is sitting now, Supt McDonald said it “very much has the right mix.”

“Our numbers are pretty good, we’re always looking for different ways to deploy our personnel we have not only in Bathurst but in Cowra, Lithgow and Oberon.”

An area of concern, when he took over Bathurst was the state’s increasing road toll, which he said police are continuing to target, through high visibility policing and educational campaigns.

He said he was pleased with the continuing downward trend of crime seen in the police district and something, with the help of the community he wants to continue.

He said the city has a busy calendar of events coming up in the next 12 months, from the V8 races to Elton John’s visit in January.

“That will bring a lot of people into the area, the promoter and council are well versed, and have already made contact with us, and we will be working with them with everything from counter terrorism to crowd management."