THE man who, for the last 18 months, has been charged with keeping the people of Yate and Sodbury safe and secure is stepping down.

Sector inspector Keith Farrow has decided that 30 years with Avon and Somerset Constabulary is enough and he will be leaving Chipping Sodbury station on March 10.

Gazette reporter Ali Dent talked to the area's police chief about the highs and lows he has experienced and his thoughts on the future of policing in the Sodbury district.

WITH his relaxed charm and an ever-friendly face, it is no wonder Insp Keith Farrow has something to smile about.

For the past 30 years, since he joined Avon and Somerset police as a bobby on the beat in Bristol, Insp Farrow has consistently worked his way up. After 17 years at Staple Hill station as a sergeant, he moved back to Bristol in 2000 for his first year as an inspector.

He arrived in Chipping Sodbury as sector chief just 18 months ago but, even in such a short time, the man with a smile has made his mark.

He says his job has been made all the easier by the vigilant public.

"I have not worked anywhere where the community is so supporting of the local police," he said. "Police in Chipping Sodbury are probably held in as high regard by the community as anywhere. People understand the issues and the difficulties."

But he saved the highest praise of all for his own officers, billing them as the best in the business.

"People round here should not under-estimate the desire of my officers to provide a good service - they want to do the very best they can," he said.

"The public gets frustrated when police do not always do what they want, but they are nowhere near as frustrated as officers are when they cannot do all they want to do."

He said since taking over at the top anti-social behaviour, particularly among young people, has become Yate and Sodbury's biggest problem - or at least, so most people think.

"There have been perceived increases in anti-social behaviour but I am not entirely convinced that there are those increases," said Insp Farrow.

He said problems with teenagers hanging around in parks and on street corners had been around for many years but residents are now showing less tolerance.

He said: "We often get called to groups of youths causing a "nuisance" but when we get there, we find they are not doing a lot wrong at all.

"Residents are phoning police and their local councillors rather than talking to one-another and the parents of those children."

The often outspoken inspector has been angered by the amount of bureaucracy and paper work he has to deal with.

He said: "Too much of my time, and more importantly, too much of my officers' time, is spent filling in forms rather than being out in the community doing the job people want us to do.

"It is very frustrating and means the service we give to the community - that people's council tax pays for - is reduced."

Although Insp Farrow will be relaxing in a less responsible and accountable job which he is now in the process of finding, he still has concerns for the future of his old patch.

Late night licensing, in Chipping Sodbury in particular, poses the biggest threat to policing the district, says the inspector.

"If pubs are allowed to open much later it will be very difficult to police," warned Insp Farrow. "We are not getting any additional resources but will have to police the area throughout the night with what we have got.

"We will have to spread our resources over a much longer period of time but it really comes down to the community telling their councillors what they expect, and the licensing committee making the right decisions for their community."

As Insp Farrow's last day looms low, the hunt is on for a replacement to the fair and friendly face the people of Yate and Sodbury have become so used to seeing.

"I will really miss the people and the interaction with the community, and the people I have worked with," he lamented. "But it is time to find something a little closer to home and something with less responsibility that doesn't put me in the public spotlight all the time."

Insp Farrow lives in Chippenham, Wiltshire, with his wife Fiona and their 11-year-old daughter.