Newly-appointed police chief pledges to improve standards

Chief Superintendent Ian Kennedy, who has now taken charge as divisional commander of Airedale and North Bradford Police, has said he wants to keep crime falling.

The officer, who replaces outgoing chief superintendent Allan Doherty and joins the area after holding a senior position at police headquarters, said he was keen to drive the force forwards in the district.

Ch Supt Kennedy said: "The important thing for me actually is to find out more about the area and the communities that we police.

"I look forward to meeting partners to ensure we work together and that my staff are delivering a quality of service and standard of investigation that we can all be proud of.

"Crime has been falling in Airedale and North Bradford and that good work is something we now need to build on."

Ch Supt Kennedy said he was keen to build on work to tackle serious violent crime in Keighley and the expansion of the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system last winter.

The 300,000 scheme saw coverage expand across the Bradford district and was launched with a major operation to tackle road related crime, during which police seized more than 100 uninsured cars and arrested 26 people.

Ch Supt Kennedy said: "I have been very pleased to hear of the successes which have taken place over the last 12 months such as the roll out of the expanded ANPR camera network to cover Bradford district.

"Systems such as this can have a significant impact in improving safety and making life difficult for offenders and are excellent tools for police officers."

The police chief is also keen to focus on improving the division's ability to seize the proceeds of crime from criminals and he said that strengthening neighbourhood policing was also a priority.

Ch Supt Kennedy joined the police in Lancashire and has spent the majority of his career in the CID.

He moved to West Yorkshire in 2004 following promotion to superintendent to work in the counter terrorism and then the professional standards units.