A POLICE boss began his new role by pound-ing the streets during a Saturday night town centre patrol.

Chief Superintendent Andy Rhodes spent several hours with officers in Blackburn to find out what they have to deal with on a typical weekend.

Chief Supt Rhodes, the new divisional commander for Eastern Division, which covers Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley, visited many of the local pubs and nightspots to talk to licensees and door staff.

He said: "As there was quite a bit of snow it meant there were few people out and there was not much trouble.

"Blackburn's night-time scene is not as lively as other towns, and there is the potential for venues to lower their standards and take more competitive risks to get people through the doors.

"There is the potential for irresponsibility.

"We have spoken to all the big pubs. They have a good relationship with the town centre officers and are working with us to create high standards.

"With the town regener-ation there could be more licensed premises and when this starts then those standards must be met by others."

Chief Supt Rhodes, who has spent more than 16 years working for Lancashire Police, has pledged to target issues which affect local communities, particularly in deprived areas.

He said: "Eastern division has a good reputation in the county, particularly for its neighbourhood policing teams.

"They are dealing with local problems and commun-ities are benefiting from that.

"If there is an area of a town where people do not feel safe, that is something that is a community priority and they should feel that they can approach us about it."

He has taken up his new post after spending time on secondment to the Home Office.

During this time he worked on Operation Quest, which focused on improving operational processes like call handling and incident management to help forces improve their performance and save money. This is now operating in Lancashire.

Chief Supt Rhodes said: "There is a tendency to over promise and under deliver.

"We have got to be more realistic with people when they call us (for non-emergency calls).

"It is better to make a later appointment that we can meet than give an earlier time and be late - people understand that.

"There are also regular police surgeries that people can go to with issues that they want to discuss."

Chief Supt Rhodes said that while anti-social behaviour issues were a key focus for his community policing, combating serious crime was also a main priority.

He said: "Eastern division also has a good reputation for targeting organised crime and has set the standard for the rest of the constabulary.

"The police here send out a message that you can't get away with crime and drive around in a flash car, because we will not tolerate it."

Chief Supt Rhodes replaces David Mallaby, who retired after more than 30 years of service to take up a new role with Blackburn with Darwen Council.