'It's about making sure the people who are harming us and our communities are locked up' says Brighton and Hove's new police commander

Chief Superintendent Justin Burtenshaw is Brighton born and bred and when he joined Sussex Police 24 years ago his first posting was to Brighton. He spent his first 16 years with the force working his way from PC to Inspector in jobs like neighbourhood policing and response and investigations.

He was then promoted to Chief Inspector for Chichester and Arun, where he was the District Commander for five years, before being promoted to Superintendent. For the last four years, Justin has been head of firearms and protective security for Surrey and Sussex, which involved working at Gatwick.

Now promoted to Chief Superintendent, he has come full circle and is back in his home city as Divisional Commander for Brighton and Hove.

Ch Supt Burtenshaw said: “It’s been a dream of mine for years. As i started going through the ranks, I had this thing where I wanted to be one day the divisional commander of Brighton. My whole family live in Brighton and Hove, I went to school here, university here, I love this city so to be given the opportunity was like a dream come true, it’s amazing. I can’t wait to get cracking now and try to build on the work of the past but also put my stamp on it.”

Asked what his priorities for the city will be, he said the force’s Chief Constable Jo Shiner summed it up with three phrases – to protect the community, catch criminals and deliver an outstanding service.

Ch Supt Burtenshaw added: “Also it’s about getting it right first time and trying to tackle anti-social behaviour early, let’s not wait for it to become a big issue, let’s try and nip it in the bud and actually be hard on the people who cause the most harm in our communities because to be a victim of crime is horrible.”

Visibility and trust

Ch Supt Burtenshaw said making people feel safe, visibility of officers and trusting the police were also crucial.

“If you are living in an area where you are frightened to go out, that’s just not an acceptable place to be,” he said. “So my job is not only to keep people safe but to make them feel safe as well. It’s just about making sure we are in the right places at the right time, that we’ve got as much visibility as we can out on the streets but also talking and listening to the public because it’s only by their support that we can actually police.

“The horrendous stuff that has gone on in London has affected trust and confidence in police. My job is to try to regain that trust and confidence and I can only do that by the actions of mine and my officers and that’s about making sure we are listening and making sure we give every victim and witness the service they deserve. It’s really important people are confident when they phone us that they will get the right person turning up at the right time.”

Ch Supt Burtenshaw admitted policing was difficult but he wants to send a strong message to criminals.

He said: “It’s about making sure the people that are really harming us and our community, and that’s my community and my family’s community as well, are locked up. That’s about getting hard on criminals, I want it to be a really hostile place for criminals to want to come to. They need to know we will be really tough.”

Giving victims confidence to come forward

Asked about the top crime concerns for Brighton and Hove, Ch Supt Burtenshaw said: “There’s a lot of issues in a big city like this. There’s been lots of talks around violence against women and girls and actually that is a real focus because that stretches from anything within the night-time economy through to domestic abuse.

“My job is to increase the ability for people to feel safe in the city but also if they are victims to encourage them that they can be confident in coming forward to us.”

A real focus has already begun on the night-time economy in Brighton with Operation Marble, ensuring officers are in specific locations at specific times, particularly late at night at the weekends.

Ch Supt Burtenshaw said: “Visibility doesn’t solve it alone, this is about working with my intelligence teams to target the offenders but also enable people to see us and feel safe when they see us. I want people, particularly in the night-time economy to know where the police are. So they know where to go.”

Ch Supt Burtenshaw welcomed the news that Sussex Police force grow by 117 officers this financial year, which he said will help to put even more officers on the frontline.