Senior Constable Liz Williams is the district's first intelligence analyst and is based at Alexandra. She will be collating and analysing information about vehicle crashes and crime trends.
"Intelligence and policing are not new to the district but my role is to formalise the process," she said.
Snr Const Williams (38) started on July 27 after moving to Alexandra from Palmerston North with her husband and fellow police officer Sergeant Mike Williams, who is the head officer at the Cromwell station.
Snr Const Williams has been a police officer for 15 years, since starting in 1994, and although she lived and worked in Palmerston North for that time, she grew up in Otago.
"It's a little bit like coming home and an excellent excuse for a change, to come and be closer to family. I always loved Central Otago as a child and I guess, to a degree, I want to replicate what I grew up with for my son," she said.
The couple have a 7-year-old son at school in Alexandra.
Snr Sgt Williams said Alexandra felt safer than Palmerston North, partly because of its smaller population.
"We didn't have so much to do with immediate neighbours, whereas here everyone knows everyone else and looks out for everyone, and that's been apparent from the moment we opened our front door," she said.
Statistically, the amount of crime in Central Otago during one year would equate to one month in Palmerston North. Despite that, she had been "flat out" since moving to the district.
Sgt Williams (37), who also started on July 27, has been a police officer for 13 years, all in the central North Island.
Sgt Williams said the Cromwell community had been open and welcoming, which was a change from what he experienced in parts of Palmerston North.
"I did a lot of work with gang issues and that side of life. The focus down here is more on community," he said.
Sgt Williams said initiatives which had worked well in Palmerston North would be adapted and introduced to the Cromwell station, allowing police to take a more proactive approach.
"I want to have a focus on intelligence and analysis of crime trends, to make sure we are focusing on the right people and targeting active offenders," he said.
Constable Roger Mattson last month moved from Auckland to Roxburgh and will work alongside Constable Jape Wanoa. Const Mattson (37) and his wife have two sons, aged 3 and 8.
After working in Auckland and Northland stations for nine years from 1995, Const Mattson left the force for four years before rejoining in October 2008.
His stint as a physiotherapy equipment salesman took him through Central Otago and he decided it would be a good area in which to work and raise a family.
Working in a two-man station means Const Mattson spends the majority of his time on solo shifts.
"Policing is the same wherever you go. You get the same offending and problems, but it's on a smaller scale here. You get less volume and more time to do quality police work, and I like to think the community gets a better service because of that," he said.
