Editorial
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Prevention, disruption, response. It’s the mantra the new Wollongong police boss, Superintendent Chris Craner, applies every day.
Unlike top cops before him, his focus is largely on crime prevention first.
And he makes it known to his troops that if they put their lives on the line he has their back. It’s what any good worker wants in a boss. Mutual respect and support.
Port Stephens MP Kate Washington was impressed when the superintendent came to town.
She went as far as to pen an article about his role in the community when he left her command to take up a job with NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller.
“I now feel more equipped to answer a frequently asked question, ‘what makes a good leader’,” Ms Washington told the Port Stephens Examiner in April 120127.
“Superintendent Craner’s leadership on a range of issues was impressive. It was evidenced by actions, not words,” she said.
“His proactive and preventative approach to policing made sense. The foundations of a strong partnership between the police and our community were being forged.
“Trust was being restored among people who were saying that they had felt let down in the past.”
Superintendent Craner has worked alongside some of the state’s most elite police officers.
Along with Commissioner Fuller, he has worked with former Assistant Commissioner Nick Kaldas and played key roles in negotiations with government ministers over all things policing.
Now though he is committed to making a difference on the streets of Wollongong. He agreed to an interview with the Mercury to put on the table what he plans to achieve.
A kind of report card if you like, something tangible that the newspaper, his troops, and the wider community can hold him to.
He doesn’t want praise – rather he wants the cold, hard truth to be told. A relationship built on mutual trust, where the bad is reported along with the good.
“If I stuff up you can call me on it,” he said. “If you have a not-so-positive story about something we have done or haven’t done, then we will cop it.”
A refreshing attitude from a police officer of such a rank and sway in not just the Illawarra but the NSW Police hierarchy.
We will watch with interest – and report the good and the challenges he faces – as he makes inroads on his bucket list.