Nick Downing is not afraid of talking the talk. “I always deliver,” said the 43-year-old Detective Chief Superintendent.
“There is no challenge too big,” he told the Gazette, just 10 days into his new job as borough commander, having taken from Detective Chief Superintendent Steve Kershaw, who retired in March.
Mr Downing brings 25 years of policing experience with him, after working his way up to one of the top jobs in the Metropolitan Police.
Latterly, he was part of specialist organised and economic crime prevention unit, leading Operation Podium, the force’s crackdown on touts and gangs involved in ticket fraud and counterfeiting at the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.
Podium made 90 arrests before the games had even begun, and Mr Downing says it is this proactive approach that he hopes to bring to policing in Hillingdon.
“Operation Podium was one of the biggest challenges of my career, but one that was very successful and that I am extremely proud of,” he said.
“I will do all I can to make people in Hillingdon feel safe. I want police to be a part of the community.
“I don’t just want it to be about arrests or crime statistics, it should be about the everyday work we do.
“We shouldn’t just be reacting to crime. We should be there beforehand to prevent the crime from happening in the first place,” he added.
During his time as head of the Proceeds of Crime unit, the force increased the amount of stolen money seized in London by 30 per cent in one year.
“That is something else that I am hugely proud of,” he said. “I always deliver.”
But it is not all about past glories and ‘his way’. Mr Downing said he is determined to learn from policies already being practised before jumping in with new initiatives.
“The drive will come from me but I’ve got a fantastic team”, he said.
“There are people here who are working very hard to improve and maintain the reduction in crime that we have had year-on-year, and there are ways in which we can continue that downward trend.
“I am very keen to learn what is already working. Prosecution is an important aspect of policing crime but prevention and disruption is what we should be focussing on.
“I used it in the Olympics to great effect and I want to see how that approach will be used in Hillingdon.
“I’m passionate about being tough on criminals. I want to create a very hostile environment for criminals, and if my planning is right we should be there before someone commits a crime.
“If we aren’t then we have failed.”
Cuts in the Metropolitan Police have meant the borough, like most, has experienced station closures and a reduction in officers in recent years but things are turning around . When the local policing model was implemented last year, the borough was about 60 officers below the designated number, with promises that things would improve by 2015. Instead, Mr Downing said he expects to be back up to strength by August this year.
“We have 16 new officers who have just started, and the fact there are now new officers is very exciting,” he said. “It gives us the opportunity to mould them.
“They are the leaders of the future as far as I’m concerned.”
He ended the interview with a simple vision, and a promise only time will tell if he can deliver. “Now I’m borough commander I’m going to use all of the skills I have to make Hillingdon the safest borough in London.”
