A MAJOR restructure of Fenland policing has led to early success but there is still a lot of hard work ahead, the region’s chief inspector has warned.

The new Fenland Policing District came into force at the start of April when Cambridgeshire was split into six areas of responsibility.

Now, two months down the line, chief inspector Mike Winters has moved to assure the residents of Fenland all is running smoothly.

“There is still a lot to do and demands will never go away but I am really pleased with the first few weeks,” he said.

The reshuffle has allowed Chief Insp Winters to allocate areas of focus - anti-social behaviour, the safer neighbourhood team and serious crime - to individual police officers.

He said it is the first time notices of intended deportation have been issued to immigrants “who are clearly not contributing to our community”.

He also said there was work being done to tackle “lax” licensed premises and target street drinking.

“This focus on the right people and the right places is efficient, particularly important with the financial cut backs, and has already resulted in Fenland having the highest detection rate for crime and particularly burglary in the county so far this year,” he added.

He cited various recent cases where he believed the new policing structure was yielding results.

“In all, I am pleased, but accept work will never go away and we will continue to work with these to tactics make Fenland a better place to live, safer neighbourhood teams and more serious crime,” Chief Insp Winters said.

“Some of the success are a direct result of brave interventions by members of the public who caught offenders in the act.”