The Lancaster area's new police chief is promising to take a high-profile role in the fight against crime and expects her staff to do the same.

But Chief Superintendent Wendy Walker says the force can only succeed with the help and support of the public.

She describes the area as a fantastic place to work' and says she hopes to meet lots of local people in the coming weeks to find out what problems trouble them most.

"The priority from the start is to find out what is going on in the communities and we will not know what is going on without people telling us about it," she told the Citizen this week.

"We have to put the right resources in the right places, taking our lead from the community beat managers - the people on the ground who know what is going on.

"I'm taking over a happy ship which is performing well but I am not complacent we can always do better."

Ch Supt Walker joined Lanca-shire police in 1981 after working as a PE teacher.

She began her career on foot patrol in Blackpool before moving on to East Lancashire, where she has spent most of her career apart from a spell as Detective Inspector in Lancaster from 1992 to 1994.

She has also worked at force headquarters, where she pre-pared Lancashire's response to the Stephen Lawrence inquiry and headed the constabulary's human resources and training.

She says: " I have felt a difference in this community on my return, something I didn't feel 10 years ago. People I have met are very pro-police and it is these people who need to tell us what is going on.

"But what I don't want to do is raise expectations because this is a very large geographical area and we have to be careful to prioritise how we use our resources. There will not necessarily be a police car there within an hour of every call we might, for example, choose an undercover response or need to look at a long term solution to the problems."

Ch Supt Walker, who lives in Whalley, near Clitheroe, with her partner, takes over from Stuart Kirby, who has moved to police headquarters as corporate improvement co-ordinator.

She is responsible for the northern division, stretching from the Cumbrian border to Fleetwood and the outskirts of Blackpool.

January 9, 2003 09:30