INSPECTOR Russell McArthur was formally appointed on 2 May to the post of Officer in Charge of the Northern Sector of the Orana Mid Western Police District, having already acted in the role since the transfer of Inspector David Maher to Bathurst in December 2020.

On Monday 3 May Inspector McArthur was in Coonamble and says he is already quite familiar with the area.

"I worked three and a half years in Walgett so I came here quite a bit," Insp. McArthur said. "And then I was five years in Coonabarabran."

Insp. McArthur was originally from Grafton and worked in Nelson Bay before heading west to Parkes and Walgett then back to the coast where he spent four years at The Rocks.

"I did four years back on the coast and realised the grass is not always greener," Insp McArthur said.

In October 2020 Insp. McArthur took up a position in Dubbo.

His wife Candice's parents live in Coonabarabran and the McArthurs now have three primary-aged children and Russell's time is spent "kid-wrangling" and renovating their house.

The McArthurs welcomed the opportunity to get back to Coonabarabran when he was offered the Officer in Charge position.

He expects to be in the role for a minimum of three years.

"It's been business as usual here," Insp McArthur said. "It's never really quiet, there's always something going on but there's been no surprises yet," he said.

Insp McArthur does not plan any big changes for his patch.

"We'll have the same systems in place and I have the same focus as David Maher on prevention and intervention and being involved in the community, especially with youth," he said.

"There's always evolution in policing – I think we're more proactive and prevention-based."

He says that this can be seen locally in compliance checks for Domestic Violence Orders and bail conditions and police using their powers to conduct searches or move people on from known crime hotspots.

"But even just living locally and engaging with the community, driving around, and talking to people on the street," Insp McArthur said.