Chief Superintendent Victor Olisa

»Bexley police welcomed its first Black borough commander on Monday who said he is relishing the opportunity to take on the demanding role.

Chief Superintendent Victor Olisa replaced outgoing Ch Supt Dave Stringer, who has taken up his new role at Tower Hamlets.

Bexley’s new chief joined the Metropolitan Police in 2006, as a superintedent in Southwark, and this will be his first borough commander post.

He said: “The first two and a half days have been brilliant, it’s been non-stop.

“I only found out three weeks ago. I’m not surprised because I asked to be given a borough commander’s post somewhere but you don’t always get what you ask for.

“I think Bexley will be a good place to start.”

Ch Supt Olisa said his main priority would be maintaining and building on the work of his predecessor.

He said: “Last year there was a 24 per cent reduction in burglaries in the borough and I will be aiming to keep crime levels low.

“There will probably not be as much crime as there was in Southwark but that doesn’t make what happens any less important, especially to the victims.”

Reported policing cuts have been one of the biggest issues facing the Met, but the 52-year-old – who worked for the fraud squad for the City of London police in the 1990s and began his career with Surrey police straight out of university in 1982 – stated he is happy with the amount of staff he has at his disposal in Bexley.

“There can never be enough police out on the streets making the public feel safe, but I’m pretty pleased with the numbers we have.

“That’s not to say I wouldn’t take some more officers if I was offered them!”

Despite a few high-profile murders happening in the Bexley area in recent years he believes violent crime is not a big problem for his staff.

He added: “One murder is one too many but I don’t want to alarm anyone.”