Falmouth, Penryn and Helston have a new top cop from this week as sector Inspector Steve Lenney takes up the post.

A former Camborne custody inspector with more than 20 years experience on the force, Insp Lenney is taking responsibility for a whole new policing area following a reshuffle.

Helston and the Lizard Peninsula, which were previously grouped with Camborne and Redruth, will now fall under the same sector as Falmouth and Penryn.

Truro, which was part of the Falmouth sector last year, will now be run separately by the town’s outgoing inspector, Mark Richards.

Insp Lenney, aged 44, comes from a long line of serving police officers – although he “never thought” he would follow in the footsteps of his ancestors.

He started out as an outdoor pursuits instructor in Kent for the first 13 years of his working life and is still a self professed “adrenaline junkie,” but was drawn to police work by a desire to make a change.

During his six years at Camborne, the married father of three was often called upon by headquarters because of his reputation for looking at things differently.

He pioneered taking statements over the telephone and has considered different ways of using technology – even looking at running police cars on gas at one point.

“The first message to my staff here, and the same in Helston, was always challenge the way you do things,” Insp Lenney said from his office at Falmouth Police Station.

“If there is a different way of doing it I will always challenge the status quo.”

Central government cuts will demand that things are “done differently”, he said.

Adding “It’s an exciting time for me to get such a big sector to experiment with.”

While Insp Lenney said public expectation of what the police can deliver can be higher in Cornwall than other areas he has worked in, he is confident he can get it right.

“That’s what I’m really excited about with Falmouth and Helston. We have a large geographical area and I don’t want officers doing work that is not adding value to our service,” he said.

“Having taken over from Mark Richards and Mark Eccles [former sector inspector for Helston], they have left it at such a high standard I can’t come in and change everything. I have just got to take stock and look at where we can go from here.

“If we get it right we will provide a really good service to a lot of people, and we are going to get it right.”