Chief Superintendent Lucy D'Orsi is set to leave her police chief role after delivering Hammersmith and Fulham's lowest ever recorded crime rates over the past three years.
The formidable chief has been described as a tough act to follow as she has been key in reducing crime, safe policing over 100 football matches every season and modernising policing in the borough through the use of technology, especially through social media.
She will be moving on to another job in the Met and will be replaced by Gideon Springer, currently based at Brent Police, at the beginning of March.
She told how proud she is to have been entrusted for three years to be the borough commander and to keep the people of Hammersmith and Fulham safe.
“I love the borough," she said. "It is diverse, vibrant and a really lively place to live, work or socialise. I will truly miss working in Hammersmith and Fulham and will miss the people and their passion.”
During her time in the top job, Ms D'Orsi has introduced a range of new crime fighting techniques such as using sting vehicles and houses, with covert cameras to snare thieves, as well as using crime mapping to focus patrols on key crime generating areas.
Her insistence on the use of Twitter to engage with residents has proved very popular and useful, with nearly 5,000 followers and updates every day about successful arrests, police operations, appeals and snippets into the life of a police officer.
Neighbours from all over the borough have often seen the police chief at crime fighting road shows and she has also been a key member of the safeguarding panel which works to help make children safer.
Ms D'Orsi revealed what shaped her approach to fighting crime and the secret to successfully making the borough safer. She said: “As a student I was a victim of a burglary which shaped my passion to ensure that my team are focused on keeping people safe in their homes. Working with partners such as Neighbourhood Watch and the local authority and focusing on crime prevention means that I leave with burglary in H&F at an all-time low.
“I believe making communities safe is far easier when police work with the community. The crime fighting road shows, which are run with the council and Neighbourhood Watch, have been a great way to meet local people and address local concerns directly.”
She is also immensely proud of all the teams and individuals who have received accolades under her watch. PC Tony Morgan from Hammersmith and Fulham Police won the Commissioners Award for best thief taker and best police officer in the Met for 2013 last month. With 212 arrests in just 11 months, Ms D'Orsi said: "Tony is a tireless crimefighter and I'm very proud of him."
She also mentioned Shepherd's Bush Green Safer Neighbourhood Team who won the award for best Safer Neighbourhood Team in 2012, and praised the efforts of all officers and staff in the borough over the last three years for significantly reducing crime, especially in home burglary.
“The challenge for my successor is to continue to bring criminals to justice through strong partnership working with the council and others and to maintain crime reduction against a reduced budget.
"I am confident my successor possesses the leadership qualities to achieve this and he will be supported by a really strong local partnership which has a passion to make Hammersmith & Fulham the safest borough in London.”
