INTERNATIONAL Women’s Day was marked last Friday and, as part of this, our own Chief Constable Jo Farrell took part in an interview (tinyurl.com/4zh83pc2) with the Scottish Women’s Development Forum.

Having listened to this myself, there is much to be commended in listening to the interview for all readers of this article, as it offers some interesting insights into both policing in general and what we are trying to do as an organisation, as well as thoughts around inclusion and diversity.

We are fortunate in that East Lothian possesses many high-calibre female officers and for me as commander there should never be any debate over the effectiveness of any officer on account of their gender.

The integrity of police officers and being able to trust them is central to maintaining public trust in policing.

We have acknowledged that sexism and misogyny continue to exist within Police Scotland, as they do in many other areas of society; however, much is being done to tackle this, which you can find out more about on our website scotland.police.uk/about-us/how-we-do-it/strategic-planning/policing-together-equality-diversity-and-inclusion-strategy

Policing within East Lothian is part of a national force which in turn is part of UK and international policing, and any time high-profile mistakes are made, or criminals such as Wayne Couzens or David Carrick are found within policing organisations, it hurts all the officers and staff who are honest, and want to serve their citizens to keep them safe.

We want to serve the public and keep them safe at all times in the best possible way we can, using all the resources we have at our disposal.

As local area commander of East Lothian, I am responsible for the officers and staff serving all of you and, having been in post for nearly a year now, there is not a day goes by that I am not impressed with their dedication and hard work, which often goes on behind the scenes and in areas not traditionally associated to policing, such as helping those in mental health crisis.

Occasionally mistakes will be made and not everyone will agree with our decisions, but I would hope that you support my assertion that decisions are taken in good faith, with the safety of others at the front of our minds.

We want you to have trust and confidence in what we do and the manner in which we do it, so please give us feedback on this through scotland.police.uk/about-us/how-we-do-it/research-and-insights/user-experience-surveys/local-policing-user-experience-survey