There’s a new top dog coming to the Richmond Police District.

The Lismore App had a chat with incoming Superintendent Scott Tanner, who starts his new role in the local district tomorrow, taking over from Supt Toby Lindsay.

We wanted to find out more about who he is, where he’s been and what direction he wants to take local policing in - especially as we move into a new era of living under Covid restrictions.

Superintendent Scott Tanner is a self-professed Bali bogan, who loves rugby league and is ready to take serious action on domestic violence. As he takes over the head police role, he is ready to bring his empathy and people skills to the region and take the district into a new era.

“My motto is that I want police to be approachable and for the community to have faith and trust in them – after all, we go to work to look after and protect the community,” Supt Tanner said.

“I’ve developed community engagement skills over the years and want to make sure our police force does a good job and are supported in what they do.”

Before coming to our local area, he was Superintendent in the New England Police District and has moved around regional over the course of his career, gradually moving up the ranks of the Force.

Why join the police?

“I was 19 when I joined – before that I did odd jobs and went to university for a while, but it didn’t suit me,” he said. “I was in Port Macquarie and a friend’s dad was a police inspector there. That was my first link with police and I admired and looked up to him and thought it would be a good career, so I joined the police. I was in training on my 20^th birthday.”

Training

“Back then, the emphasis was on physical fitness and teamwork. I’d played football all my life and sport and the police force have a lot in common. I looked forward to the camaraderie that’s a part of police culture – and it’s about having a good time.”

Supt Tanner graduated from police training in Newcastle as a Probationary Constable and started doing demonstration patrols in different locations for three months at a time. In1994 he, transferred to Grafton, then moved around NSW, to Nymboida and Manilla near Tamworth, Gunnedah, Coonabarabran, then Dubbo and Armidale.

He moved up the ranks from Constable to Sergeant, then Inspector, until he was promoted to Superintendent in the New England region. He said while the aspirational career path moves toward the role of Commander, he’s just focussing on his new role as Superintendent and is looking forward to the job ahead.

What does the Superintendent role entail?

“I am the commanding officer in charge of all district police and I set the strategic direction of policing crime and engaging with community,” he said.

In the Richmond Police District, he has 190 staff – but in his previous role he had 209 and managed three large police stations in Armidale and Moree.

“I’m used to big stations,” he said. “To do the job takes empathy and people skills. Communication is the key. You need to be well organised and give people your time.

Tough things

“As police, we see the best and worst in society. We attend fatal motor vehicle accidents, suicides, murder scenes - heart breaking stuff.”

It was not an easy career path sometimes.

“I was only 20 years old when I graduated and I had to go to people’s places where domestic incidents had occurred and tell people a lot older than me how to run their lives – that was hard," he said.

Scary moment

Being a police officer is not for the faint hearted. Supt Tanner said he had already spent 13 years on the tactical squad, being involved in sieges and high risk incidents.

“We were faced with guns and cranky people with knives,” he said. “You rely on your training to get through that stuff – and we have good trainers, role models and mentors.

What does it take to be a police officer?

“Common sense is a big part of it – so is being part of a team. You need to have a bit of get up and go and be a good communicator and have a crack. It’s the greatest career."

Great things

He said some of the good things about the job are getting to interact with different people, giving them an opportunity to change their life direction.

“In the western region, I’ve been working with Aboriginal communities - running fitness programs, Sydney trips and one on one mentoring with kids,” he said. “It’s important to help break kids out of cycles that lead them into crime and poverty – it helps them get jobs and a better life.

“In the Lismore PCYC, the Fit for Life program is an example of this. It’s part of the Rise Up strategy to empower young people to make better life choices.

“It’s often as simple as interacting with them in a positive way when attending a job.

Positive influence

“For example, if I see a kid riding a bike with no helmet, I’ll refer them to the PCYC or buy them a helmet – that’s a positive influence, not a negative interaction.

Sport

“I’m also a big Newcastle Knights tragic. I love rugby league and I played for the Grafton Ghosts when I was younger.

“We played against the Marist Brothers team quite often and I remember they were a strong side back in the day.

“I also used to coach the under 16s team and won a premiership with them.”

Covid and policing

With police playing a big role in policing the Government’s constantly changing Covid-19 regulations, how does Supt Tanner see this role changing in the future?

“It’s a difficult balance. If you said 12 months ago you can’t leave home because of a virus, it sounded crazy,” he said.

“When Covid initially hit, we engaged with people and explained why we were doing it. We worked with the Aboriginal community on a daily basis to protect them.

“While the Government decides the rules and enforcement is a part of it, as Covid goes on, we need people to take personal responsibility.

“If I can come to Richmond and not issue one ticket, I’ll consider it a complete success. I know people are doing it tough and losing their jobs, but people are also losing their loved ones.

“Police have been given a lead role in protecting community – Serve and protect is our motto and we will make sure we get through this Covid crisis. This lifestyle is the new normal and it’s a bit of an adjustment period for people.

What’s his plan for Richmond Police District?

“First, I listen to the police already working there and get a sense of what has been working and what can be improved.

“We are lucky here, Richmond cops do an outstanding job. It’s not about re-inventing the wheel.”

Focus on domestic violence

Supt Tanner said he intends to bring a strong message that domestic and family violence is not okay.

“Domestic and family violence incidents were high in the western region,” he said

“It’s been something I’ve been involved in for years – the rising number of them means I focus on checking up on those people with restraining orders and engage with the victims to break the cycle.

“In New England, if I issued a restraining order, you would expect to be in court - no buts or maybes. I will be strict on protecting those who can’t protect themselves."

“We know the time between an arrest and court is the most successful time to change someone’s behaviour. We want to break the cycle of people ending up in jail."

“Often, when someone commits a crime, there’s a lag time of up to six weeks before their court time. That’s’ when they should be under scrutiny and can practice self-awareness and make a change."

Rural crime

Supt Tanner said he will also be taking a hard line on rural crime.

“Rural crime could be everything from stealing firearms, growing drugs or trespassing,” he said. “There is already a great rural crime prevention team at Richmond.”

Life and family

Supt Tanner is married and has four older children, and one foster daughter.

His wife is also a police officer and will be taking up the role of Sergeant in charge of domestic violence incidents at Richmond Police District next week.

When it comes to living and working together, Supt Tanner said “at work, I’m the boss and at home she’s the boss.”

“She’s passionate and good at her job and I’m lucky to have her,” he said.

“We met in the police force when I worked in Tamworth and then we got married.”

Holidays

Supt Tanner said he is a Bali bogan who will unfortunately be going through withdrawal from his island paradise this year.

“I can’t go to Bali with the family this year because the borders are closed, so overseas holidays are on the backburner,” he said. “We took a caravan holiday earlier this year instead."

He is on the road for most of next week, but you will see him around as of August 17 - so say hi if you do.