The new Policing Commander for West Suffolk has said he will ensure there is “a highly-visible police presence in our communities”.

Superintendent Andrew Mason will be responsible for policing the Forest Heath, St Edmundsbury, Mid Suffolk and Babergh districts in his new role as Policing Commander for West Suffolk.

He takes over from Superintendent Terry Byford who has moved to the position of Superintendent Operations.

Supt Mason, who is based in Bury St Edmunds, was formerly Ipswich Central Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) Inspector.

He said: “This is a massive new challenge for me. The west of the county is a large geographical area with diverse policing needs from vibrant town centres to far reaching rural communities.

“Suffolk is a really safe place to be but I also know people need to feel safe so I will ensure we have a highly visible police presence in our communities and that the service we deliver is of the highest quality.

“I really want the public to have confidence in Suffolk Constabulary to keep them safe and that if they do have an interaction with us in any way they are left feeling really satisfied that we have done a good job.

“As I live and work in west Suffolk I know what a fantastic place it is and I am determined my team will contribute fully to keeping that way.”

Supt Mason started his policing career when he joined Essex Police as a police constable in 1995 and then transferred to Suffolk police in 2004 as a sergeant.

He has worked in Ipswich as a sergeant during Operation Sumac (the murder of five young women in Ipswich), Sudbury where he was a response sergeant and then within the Sudbury and Great Cornard SNT, and in Haverhill as inspector.

In 2011 he moved to Ipswich as the Ipswich Central SNT inspector. As part of this role he implemented the Reducing the Strength Campaign, which involves retailers voluntarily agreeing to remove super strength alcohol from their stores. The campaign has been rolled out elsewhere in the county and adopted in other areas of the country.