The greatest challenge facing Dyfed-Powys Police is primarily one of geography, the man tasked with leading the Force in the Ammanford and upper Towy Valley regions has said.

Inspector Richard Oliver, a softly spoken giant of a man, took charge of the area in May and has wasted little time acquainting himself with the issues likely to lay ahead.

He does have a major head-start however, the 41-year-old hails from Brynaman and is married to an Ammanford girl.

“I have very strong roots in the Amman Valley and I know the area very, very well,” said the six-foot-six-plus dad of two.

That local knowledge serves him well and is fundamental to the way Dyfed-Powys Police operates in the largest Force area within the UK.

“Ammanford is the biggest Inspector-area within Dyfed-Powys, ranging from the Amman Valley to Cross Hands and up to Llandeilo and Llandovery.

“It is a very big section to police and is rural in nature for much of the area.

“That brings its own unique problems and the challenge in the main is one of dealing with the geography.”

The scale and landscape of the Ammanford section pose very different challenges to those faced by senior officers in London, Swansea and even Llanelli or Carmarthen, but they enable Insp Oliver to encourage his team to adopt a far more hands-on approach than his colleagues elsewhere.

“We have a fantastic team of uniformed officers and an outstanding investigative department, but the style of policing is, by its nature, different in a rural area to an urban one,” he said.

“It is really important for us that our officers know the community.

“Local knowledge is crucial as is the ability to engage with the community and understand their problems.

“Lots of our officers are from this area so they have a great understanding of their community and people they serve, because they are the people.

“Officers who are part of the community take ownership of the problems in their patch.

“They take crime in their area personally.

“They also have great contacts and that is vital in a rural area.”

While Neighbourhood Policing Teams provide that personal approach on a street by street level, Inspector Oliver adopts the same philosophy on a grander scale, and takes crime in his region as personally as do his constables and PCSOs.

He is also all too aware of the importance of the human face behind the uniform.

He makes regular trips out on foot patrol with his beat officers, and has already been seen pounding the pavements in Llandovery and Llandeilo, and of course on the streets of Ammanford.

“I expect my officers to engage with the public and therefore it is vital that I do the same. I am trying to get out there and be seen, and to meet and engage with as many people as possible.”

A background in the department tasked with investigating complaints against officers has also impacted on his view of day-to-day policing.

“Being part of the Professional Standards team offers a fantastic opportunity to understand what people really think about the police.

“It has taught me how we can better engage with the public and has had a major influence on the way I deal with people.

“Police work has evolved. We are far more sensitive now to the crimes which impact on people’s lives on a daily basis.”

The work and the officers may have changed, but in many respects the hands-on face-to-face approach being adopted is a return to what many would consider old-fashioned policing.

“In some respects we have gone full circle,” said Insp Oliver.

“What we do now in terms of community policing is almost a return to the days of the local bobby, with the added benefit of a network of police and PCSOs to further assist the process of engagement.”

With a local man at the helm and the local community in his heart, the Ammanford section appears in safe – and sizeable – hands.