Leading the borough’s fight against crime (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

Leading the borough’s fight against crime

3:33pm Monday 19th April 2004 in

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AS a young police constable out on the beat, Richard Gargini possessed no grand career plan. But knuckling down to work he enjoyed, eventually led to the dizzy heights of commanding Richmond upon Thames.

I dropped by Twickenham police station last Friday to say farewell to the chief superintendent on his final day as our borough commander.

Sitting in his office amongst the disarray of half-packed boxes, he describes the sadness he feels to be moving on but also the many achievements he contentedly leaves behind.

"I'm extremely proud of everything that's been done in the borough over the last couple of years," he says. "But no person can make changes on their own; it's a joint effort and I've had great support from a very experienced senior management team and all the officers here."

So where to begin? "Well I was delighted with our performance on the public service agreement target, which last year focused on car crime and saw a reduction of 27 per cent. And burglary was reduced by 17 per cent last year.

"Then there's our success with gun crime, it's relatively small here anyway, but we had it reduced by 79 per cent at one point which is fantastic. And our detections around serious sexual assaults are now at 50 per cent," he adds.

Richard is equally proud of recent improvements made for staff. He explains: "Within the internal policing environment there's been a change in shift patterns; officers don't have to keep swapping so frequently between days, nights and late shifts. They now have variable shift patterns which allow a healthier lifestyle and means they're also more alert for the job.

"We've also matched their shifts to the needs of the community, so more staff are on duty at the busiest times, helping us to deliver the more community style policing that we've been striving for. The real up side is that staff say they're much happier."

He believes the general police environment has progressed universally: "I think it's such a level playing field now, it's fairer and more transparent than ever and opportunities are available irrespective of gender, background or culture.

"That glass ceiling' has been eradicated and we have senior officers representing minority groups and providing excellent role models."

So what first inspired Richard to climb the policing ladder? "When I finished university I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, and speaking to friends who'd joined the force it sounded like something I might enjoy. But there was never a big career plan."

He was immediately attracted to the detective side of policing and after two year's training he moved into a CID role at the age of 24. Eventually, he was promoted to sergeant and then continued through the ranks: inspector, chief inspector and then chief superintendent when taking the Richmond post.

"But I never had any vision of moving up the ladder," he emphasises. "Some people do have a definite plan, but I think that can be difficult - because things change as you go along and you discover what you're best at and what you enjoy.

"Throughout my service I've just focused on whatever I was doing and enjoyed it, taking up opportunities if they came along."

Richard has swapped between periods in uniform postings and detective roles, which has helped him to command the borough.

"It's not essential to have come from both backgrounds, but it certainly helps. Having a range of experience brings a greater degree of understanding to the role; if a CID problem arises, you can understand the core issues. I've also specialised in many areas such as murder, child abuse, surveillance and anti-terrorism."

But all this experience didn't prevent anxiety about the Richmond post.

He recalls: "I'd been working with responses to covert operations and coming to this higher profile role was very daunting.

"It was a complete change in environment and I was apprehensive about managing the various stakeholders in the community. But then I found everyone was really supportive."

Richard says being commander requires looking at the bigger picture. "Members of the senior management team each head a department such as operations, crime management, personnel or finance, and my job is to oversee everything. It's about managing the strategic development of the borough.

"You're also the face of the police, liaising with the community and managing partnerships with organisations such as the local authority - who I must say have been extremely supportive - and the RFU."

One of the biggest challenges for Richard has been distributing officers. He explains that staff numbers must remain at a certain level, so when new recruits come to Richmond, others must go to make room.

He says: "It's difficult because you can find yourself losing really experienced people. Officers always move around a lot in the force, it's the nature of the profession, and I have to manage this effectively and make sure people's skills are not undermined or wasted."

Although he is sad to be leaving these challenges behind, Richard also speaks enthusiastically about his forthcoming assignment: "It's working for the Commissioner as head of the International Crime Co-ordination Unit, so it's very exciting. It's a new area that involves pulling together the control and management of all international and overseas work.

"The Commissioner wants to keep track of where our resources abroad are and whether they're actually necessary. There's also an intelligence part to it, looking at links to crime in London."

Richard will often be required to travel abroad and says he'll miss the short journey into work each morning. "I live in Surrey which has been very handy for Richmond, but now I'll be based in Scotland Yard."

And will his wife mind him jetting off to sunnier climes? "She actually works in the police force too, so she understands how things work and the commitment involved," he assures me. "She knows about the things we have to do in this job."

Richard is now 50 and he and his wife have two children, aged ten and 12. He says that family still takes priority: "It is difficult to balance it all, but when you enter the service it's really important to maintain that balance right from the start. You must make a point of spending enough time with your partner or kids, because I've seen many relationships fail over the years."

He even finds time to pursue other passions. "I thoroughly enjoy keeping two sports cars from the early 60s on the road - I love getting my hands dirty restoring them. And recently I also enjoyed taking a diving qualification and am now able to teach other people to dive."

But despite Richard's life becoming increasingly hectic, he won't forget about Richmond upon Thames and promises to keep a watchful eye on the targets he recently announced for the coming year.

He says: "After listening carefully to the local community, we decided to focus on anti-social behaviour during the next 12 months. A target has been set to reduce the problem by 20 per cent - which is very ambitious but we think it's achievable."

Richard adds: "It's universally recognised that when you see an increase in licensed places, you will see an increase in alcohol related crimes. The amount of reported incidents per 1,000 population in Richmond actually remains very low. But we have this concentration of licenced places in certain areas.

"We've identified Richmond and Twickenham town centres as hot-spots for anti-social behaviour and the problem will be tackled with a variety of new initiatives."

So looking back over the last two years, how would Richard characterise his leadership?

"Well, I've tried to empower people - inside and outside the police service - and then assisted them to deliver all the borough's targets. This includes finding sufficient resources and funding for people.

"I wanted to make sure that the right people were in the right jobs and didn't want to lead in a prescriptive way but in a way that transforms - allowing plenty of scope for things to change and for people to develop within their roles."

Commendable words from a man who leaves behind an impressive legacy and a positive message for any young person struggling to map out their life: just work hard at something you enjoy and who knows what may be possible.