Derby police chief ready to meet tough challenges

The new officer in charge of Derby Police Station admits he faces tough challenges ahead, but is ready and willing to tackle them head on.

Senior Sergeant Dave Dench has been a copper for almost 20 years and country policing is his passion.

In fact, regional WA runs through his veins.

His previous postings were in Broome, Mt Magnet, Halls Creek and Denmark, and the 43-year-old was born and bred in Carnarvon.

Sen. Sgt Dench transferred to Derby from Geraldton where he was the Mid West-Gascoyne crime and intelligence co-ordinator.

He has climbed his way up from a young constable in remote WA towns facing massive problems with alcohol and solvent abuse.

Sen. Sgt Dench still works in an isolated town facing similar issues, but is older and wiser, and wants to put two decades of experience to good use.

The married father-of-one was quick to identify the challenges he faces in his new posting.

"The single biggest issue in Derby is chronic alcohol and drug abuse," he said.

"The majority of domestic violence, child neglect and suicides or attempted suicides involve individuals or families beset with chronic substance abuse.

"Our youth at risk, who wander the streets at night, often committing offences or engaging in dangerous behaviour, almost exclusively come from families caught in the destructive cycle of substance abuse. These are the same young people who are not going to school on a regular basis, and are therefore not learning the skills or behaviours they need to give them any sort of chance to succeed in life."

But Sen. Sgt Dench has a plan.

Part of the plot is for people to have their homes declared booze-free zones, which would be enforced by local police.

This is one of the strategies he wants to introduce to combat chronic alcohol and drug abuse, to give families a fighting chance to escape their destructive lifestyles and protect children from similar outcomes.

"Only a small part of these strategies fall into the category of traditional policing response, which is typically enforcement of legislation once an offence has occurred," he said.

"We need to focus on early intervention strategies, which we can only do in partnership with other key community stakeholders. One particular strategy that has the potential (to) significantly improve the lives of many families in Derby and surrounds, is the use of liquor- restricted premises.

"Anyone who has alcohol abuse problems within their household or family unit can apply to have their homes declared liquor restricted, and Derby police will assist them with proactively enforcing this with regular visits. We have developed a strong working partnership with the Department of Housing and Department (for) Child Protection and Family Support, to identify those houses and families in Derby needing positive intervention to assist them

with their alcohol problems."

Sen. Sgt Dench said in time, as more liquor-restricted premises were approved, this could have a significant overall impact on the social issues facing the Derby community.

The town has nine liquor restricted premises, with nine pending applications.

"I'd like to see this number rise significantly over time," he said.

"Through the Derby Liquor Accord and enforcement strategies, I also intend to focus

on ensuring that the sale and consumption of alcohol in Derby

is socially responsible."

One of his other main goals is to target drug dealers.

"To do this, we need assistance from the public," Sen. Sgt Dench said.

"We need information on who is dealing drugs in our community and, without people willing to stand up and share that information with us, we are fighting a losing battle.

"Information can be anonymous, but community people need to take some responsibility by dobbing in the drug dealers who are operating

in their neighbourhood."

Tackling domestic violence is also high on his agenda.

"There is a tsunami of social issues that are arising from our current generation of children witnessing so much domestic violence, and it's not just up to government agencies and community organisations to try

to fix this problem," he said.

"The community as a whole needs to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to domestic violence."

Sen. Sgt Dench said Derby presented him with significant challenges - particularly social issues - he intends to pursue during his tenure as top town cop.

"I am keen to tackle these in the medium to long term," he said.

"I intend to see these challenges through, so I anticipate that will take a good part of my maximum four-year tenure.

"Derby is a great town, and over the next few years, I intend to work hard to help make it an even better place to live."

The single biggest issue in Derby is chronic alcohol and drug abuse. Sen. Sgt Dave Dench