New Area Commander for Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh announced
Issued on behalf of Northern Constabulary
Chief Inspector David Bushell this week took over as the new Area Commander for the Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh areas.
He replaces previous Area Commander, Chief Inspector John Chisholm, who was promoted to Superintendent and is now the North Division Commander, based in Wick.
Chief Inspector Bushell is originally from the North East of England. He initially joined the Metropolitan Police in 1986 and was posted to Wembley Police Station where he worked for 8 years.
During this time he was involved in establishing community policing teams in a number of inner city housing estates.
He transferred to Northern Constabulary in 1994 where he was posted to Inverness. On promotion to Sergeant in 1999 he worked at Tain and then in 2002 was posted to the Sex Offender Unit at Police HQ.
Whilst working there he was involved in setting up interagency protocols across all areas of the force and worked with a number of agencies throughout the Highlands and Islands to manage offenders.
He was then promoted to Inspector in 2004 and worked in Inverness, leading a team of operational officers responsible for policing a busy area. In 2007 he was posted to Area Inspector at Nairn then to Deputy Area Commander at Badenoch, Strathspey and Nairn.
In 2009 he was promoted to Chief Inspector and took up post as Area Commander for the Shetland Isles. His work here included leading on a number of multi-agency work collaborations and commanding the policing response to major events including Green Peace demonstrations and the 2011 Tall Ships event.
He has three children and enjoys outdoor sports including sailing, walking and cycling.
He said: "I am very much looking forward to working in the Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh area. I firmly believe in community policing which involves police being approachable, visible and responsive to communities needs.
"With the support of the public the policing here has been very effective with low crime levels and high detection rates. It is one of the safest places to live, visit and work in the UK and I aim to ensure this continues. I look forward to meeting and working with the people in the area."