Police Inspector Marco Ghedini recently took up the leadership role at the Bridgewater Division of Tasmania Police after 21 years in the force. He has previously worked in a wide range of roles, includ­ing being based in North West Tasmania (Burnie and Devonport), as well as Hobart and Glenorchy. His latest area of responsibility takes in the municipalities of Brighton, Derwent Val­ley, Central Highlands and the Southern Midlands and includes 75 police officers.

Inspector Ghedini grew up in West Hobart. Born to Italian migrant parents, he is fluent in Italian and takes an active interest in multicultural communities, working as a multicultur­al liaison officer meeting regularly with different community leaders.

He comes to Bridgewater with a genuine desire to make a difference in the communities he works for. He takes a very collabora­tive approach to support­ing the community and his team.

Inspector Ghedini does not shy away from the reality of the challenges in our communities, but is quick to identify that these chal­lenges have always been there and are not unique to our area. He describes himself as being proactive rather than reactive and says, “At times we can feel unsafe in our communities but in reality, Tasmania is a very safe place to live and we need to commu­nicate more to reassure the community this is the case and the positive work that is being done to keep people safe.”

“My approach is about us building relationships, being continually engaged with the community, talking to people and being guided by what the community tells us. You cannot underestimate the importance of visibility in the community in helping to prevent crime and we will have a daily focus on traffic and road safety. It is a back-to-basics approach to policing.”

Inspector Ghedini is look­ing forward to being out and about in the commu­nity and ensuring there are more opportunities for ‘meet and greet’ style events for police officers and the community, where members of the community can just have a chat about their thoughts or concerns. Inspector Ghedini states, “We are always open to ideas from the community.”

When Inspector Ghedini isn’t hard at work look­ing after the people in his teams and the communi­ties within the Bridgewater Division, he enjoys the simple things in life includ­ing walking, soccer and time with his young family.