The newly named Hume Police District will include the Hilltops Shire as a result of the re-engineering study conducted by police in 2017.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys initiated the ‘re-engineering’ of the NSW Police Force in May last year.
Former Cootamundra Superintendent Christopher Schilt will lead the District in the role of Hume District Commander.
District Commander Schilt said he is looking forward to the challenge.
"I'll have a much larger area with more staff and lot more police stations," he said.
"It will be a bit different to the old local area command because what we've done is appointed Officers in Charge. They will take on a big leadership role within their sectors. They will be liaising directly with youth meetings and domestic violence meetings, they will be the face of that sector.
"We will announce who that will be for Young shortly."
Mr Schilt said the changes would make for more focused policing.
"The new district will incorporate Bowral, Yass, Goulburn but importantly it will now take on the entire Hilltops Government Local Government area," he said.
"That's a benefit to us because Harden and Boorowa were aligned with Cootamundra station, now they will be aligned with Young. So it means when dealing with the council with events and emergency management and such it will be a better fit."
During the Cootamundra by-election, the National's Steph Cooke said cuts to local police numbers “would not happen” as a result of the “re-engineering study”, and Mr Schilt said the changes would only benefit the Hilltops region.
"This change will provide more police on the ground, particularly in the Hilltops area," Mr Schilt said.
"Young residents can expect to see their local police in the area a lot more. Often in the past Young, Boorowa and Harden police were drawn into bigger centres but the way this will work they will be able to focus attention on their local areas.
"We will be creating a crime prevention unit; this team will be a dedicated team of one sergeant and four constables who will be proactive when it comes to domestic violence and youth issues.”
Mr Worboys said the crime prevention units should "hopefully" decrease the workload for uniformed police and other police.
“These squads are key; they're central to preventing and disrupting crime," he said.