EXACTLY three years after leaving Petersfield, Insp Steve Sargent has returned to the town to take over the running of the town's police station again.

Insp Sargent was back behind his desk at the station on Monday .

He said his main aims were to keep the crime rate low in the town at a time when many experts believed that nationally it would now begin to rise, and to put more uniformed police officers on patrol.

"Things have improved already," he said. "This week the last of several injured officers was certified fit for patrol. Also we are now closing the police station's public inquiry office earlier so that another officer can go on patrol instead of sitting inside the station."

Insp Sargent was at the helm in Petersfield police station from May, l994 to June, l998. He then took charge of divisional operations and then community safety for the Winchester and East Hampshire areas.

The community safety job has been taken over by Insp Bill Pearce, Insp Sargent's predecessor at Petersfield.

"Working in other roles has been interesting but my main interest has remained in local policing in and around Petersfield, so I am very happy indeed to return after a break of three years," Insp Sargent told The Herald this week.

He said he had lived in the Petersfield area for 22 years and felt very much part of the place.

"It's a really good area in which to live and work and one of the factors which contributes to that is the low crime rate."

Local police needed to be as accountable as possible to the public, he said.

"Anyone who would like to comment on police matters in this area can e-mail me at [email protected]">[email protected] or telephone 0845 045 45 45."

He said he would continue to run the SNAP discos every month at the Taro Leisure Centre.

The anti-drugs events for teenagers have been going for more than a year and attract around 600 young people every month. The next one is on Saturday, June 23.