'I love policing': How the new Leeds district commander hopes to tackle 'unrelenting' crime in the city
‘Everybody is trying their best for members of the public’
The new head of policing in Leeds has said that she is embracing the “unrelenting” nature of crime in the city and the challenges that it brings.
Detective Chief Superintendent Heather Whoriskey became the city’s district commander earlier this year and brings a wealth of experience, having served 24 prolific years in the police force.
After spending 15 years working in her native Northern Ireland, she then moved to Yorkshire as a detective inspector to tackle serious and organised crime and has served across the county.
“I’ve been quite fortunate in terms of the breadth of experience I’ve had,” she told us.
“I worked as a major crime senior investigations officer, so had a number of significant murder and high-profile cases, combined with work for women in policing.”
We met at Elland Road Police Station to discuss her plans for the role and the key issues she thinks the city faces.
She remains as enthusiastic about the role as ever, saying: “I love policing. I’m still grateful that it’s my career of choice and still firmly believe the reasons that I, and most officers, join is to make a difference for those people who are maybe having the worst day of their life. That’s never changed.”
DC Supt Whoriskey explained that, as one of the largest districts in the country, Leeds has a breadth of problems to tackle.
She said: “It’s a busy role. There are roughly 18,000 people working the Leeds district, including staff and volunteers.
“Every day is busy but everybody’s up for the challenge. Everybody’s dedicated and works hard and is trying their best for members of the public.”
She said that the city faces roughly the same types of crime and problems as other similar-sized metropolitan areas, with domestic crime making up over 30 percent of call outs.
“It’s such a significant amount of the demand and not just from that element but also the impact it has on victims and families and communities,” she added.
DC Supt Whoriskey also said she wanted to draw on her past experience to tackle youth violence and violent crime in the city, in the week that 19-year-old Harry Abbott’s killer was sentenced.
She said that the difference can be the ability to “intervene early and take people down a different pathway that also prevents them from catastrophic and horrific injuries”.
Leeds has recently been named the nation’s shoplifting capital, and DC Supt Whoriskey said that the force has a “dedicated” approach to tackling the matter, which involves working with shops and other partner agencies.
She added that there is a “small number of prolific shoplifters” and that a city centre team is dealing with the repeat offenders.
However, she added: “There isn’t necessarily a crime type more important than another. They all impact on communities and victims.”
Bobbies on beat
One of the most common matters raised by our readers is the lack of a visible police presence in their neighbourhoods.
Asked about this, DC Supt Whoriskey said: “We’ve had an increase as part of the Government funding into our neighbourhood police team, so we’ve had the numbers increase in that team.
“In the city centre we’ve had quite a significant uplift so people should be seeing more visible policing of that nature.
“Equally, some of our crime types that we do tackle are not dealt with by a police officer or PCSO on the street. But I understand the assurance that gives the public. So it’s getting that balance right of reassuring the public but also that we’re doing what’s most effective.”
Asked what makes her proud of working in Leeds, she said it was the staff and volunteers, adding: “I think that policing in the current climate sometimes gets a very negative view but all I see is genuine people who come to work every day and want to do their best by victims.
“When you sit every morning as we do and talk through the previous 24 hours and some of the jobs they’ve been to and dealt with it astounds me every day the commitment.”
She continued: “Just a couple of days ago we secured a charge and remand for a stranger rape where an individual has gone into a stranger’s house and raped them while asleep. The combined effort from that initial response to the call for service and help right through to the investigation team and the extra hours that were worked to make sure that evidence is gathered and the charge secured.
“They’re the types of jobs that really bring home the value of what policing provides.”