PARTNERSHIP working across Argyll and Bute will be key to tackling the challenge of policing such a widely spread area, the new local force chief has said.

Gary I’Anson spoke of the “constant challenge” of police numbers in the region during a meeting of councillors.

He spoke after a report showed that the total crime in Argyll and Bute had risen by 5.2 per cent between April 2023 and February 2024.

The discussion took place at a meeting of Argyll and Bute Council’s community services committee on Thursday, June 6.

Chief Superintendent I’Anson, who was appointed in April as Police Scotland's local policing commander for Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire said: “There is no getting away from it; it is a constant challenge right across the community. There is a tremendous amount of goodwill.

“We have looked at whether there are any barriers to what housing we have been able to provide before.

“Inspectors [Simon] Shanks and [Bart] Simonis have secured better standards of property in Rothesay and Dunoon, which gives a better chance of securing new recruits.

“We also seek to ensure we have the right culture, particularly when colleagues are going the extra mile.

“I have just come from a national position where you had a finite number of officers and had to get use to using them right across the country.

“I am really keen, with colleagues elsewhere, to secure assistance right across Argyll and Bute, so that if we need specialist help I know where to go and seek it.

“We have a culture where people are willing to travel to help colleagues, and we also look at where we have officers on a daily basis.

“We have a huge geographic area and only a certain number of officers to cover that.

“If, for example, you are searching for somebody in Campbeltown, I have been bowled over by members of the community and coastguard who have been willing to come out and search.

“Partnership working is key to ensuring our absence rates are as low as possible.”

Chief Superintendent I’Anson also responded positively to a query from Lomond North SNP councillor Iain Shonny Paterson about whether there was a place for special constables in the force.

He said: “I was in Rothesay speaking to a man who has been a special constable for 30 years. We are trying to persuade him not to retire.

“We hope there is more awareness of the fact that you can join full time and be based in that area. We hope that would be more of an incentive to join as a special constable and do it on a long-term basis.

“But you are competing against the RNLI and a whole lot of other good volunteering commitments. We really encourage it.”