Devon and Cornwall's new police chief says tackling violence against women among his top priorities

Devon and Cornwall's new police chief says tackling violence against women and girls, and making public spaces safer for everyone, are among his top priorities.

Speaking to the media for the first time since taking on the top job at the end of last year, Chief Constable Will Kerr said he is 'deeply proud', but admitted he has a tough task on his hands.

"Violence against women and girls has been talked about far more openly,' he told ITV West Country.

"We have a real responsibility as the local police force not only to tackle the violence but to prevent as much of it as we possibly can and make public spaces feel safe for women and girls to go out and go about their normal daily lives without abuse, attempts to approach them or catcalling.

"We all have a collective responsibility, but policing, in particular, has a particular responsibility to tackle this issue as robustly as it should be."

Chief Constable Kerr has more than 30 years of experience in policing.

Most recently he was Deputy Chief Constable for Police Scotland and served on the executive committee of Interpol.

"It is no accident that Devon and Cornwall Police has one of the lowest crime rates in the country and remains one of the safest places to live in the UK," he said.

"This is down to the hard work of officers and staff, but we haven’t done this alone; our communities and partners have helped us achieve this. Thank you for that support which we do not take for granted.

"However, I am under no illusion of the scale of some of the challenges ahead – including those highlighted in the recent HMICFRS inspections - but I am confident that we can address these positively and relatively quickly, and continue to deliver the service that our communities expect and deserve.'