POLICING in Enfield has undergone numerous changes in the last 18 months, carefully seen through with the dedication of a chief of police constantly aware of the borough's safety.

It is not lightly that outgoing borough commander, Sharon Rowe, leaves her post on July 2.

She said: "Because I live in the borough, I think that makes such a big difference because you are never away from the place. So, if I was walking to Enfield Town on a Sunday morning with the dog, you know, you'd have members of the community or partners coming up to you and saying do you know about such and such?'"

Promoted in November 2005 to become borough commander, Chief Superintendent Rowe was keen to stress how sad she was about having to move on.

She said: "The sadness is because I do care about the place.

"There are some fantastic people in the community that I have worked with, and the community are really up for working with the police here, really engaged and want to make a difference."

Ch Supt Rowe said she had just built a good senior management team that was beginning to deliver on performance, while other structural changes were beginning to have a positive impact.

Crime is down overall, and the clear-up rate for offences is increasing, up from 17 per cent to a monthly average of 24 per cent.

Perhaps the most recognised success for the borough, though, has been the partnership working, and impact of the Safer Neighbourhood Teams.

She said: "Do we feel Enfield is a safer place in the last 18 months? Yes, we've reduced crime, confidence is improving and we are putting more people through the courts, but overall I feel we have put Enfield on the map. Safer Neighbourhoods in Enfield is seen nationally as leading the way."

Ms Rowe said the community knew it could hold Safer Neigh-bourhood Teams to account and that Enfield was way ahead of the rest of London in this area.

Despite achievements in other areas, such as tackling an increase in robbery, she said there were areas that needed attention.

She said she would have liked to have improved on the number of officers on response teams, and said that there was an ongoing effort on reducing response times because Enfield was a large borough, something being achieved by improved management of 999 calls.

She said this area remained a challenge for Simon Thomas, the current superintendent for operations at Enfield police, who will take over as borough commander in the short term.

For Chief Superintendent Rowe, the move will take her to inner-city London and one of the Metropolitan Police's most challenging boroughs, Lambeth.

Well briefed on her move, she described Lambeth as "seriously complex".

Ch Supt Rowe said: "In terms of responsibility, it's double the number of staff, double the number of crimes.

"The challenges in Lambeth are the highest gun crime in London, the highest number of murders in London."

Lambeth had 15 murders last year, while Enfield had two. And although the population of the two boroughs is the same, Lambeth is roughly one quarter the size of Enfield.

There will also be more scrutiny and pressure in Lambeth from the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police Authority, as well as more work with Scotland Yard and the specialist crime unit.

Ms Rowe is, though, positive about how her experiences in Enfield will help.

"I just think it's been a really great borough and a great place to start. Being here will definitely help me in Lambeth," she said.

The departing chief of police praised the partners in Enfield, such as the council, and said there had been a real willingness to sort things out.

She said: "I would like to give a big thank you to the community for telling me how it is, and also for being up for making a difference and giving me that honest feedback, and a big thank you to the partners."

Despite her official departure, Chief Superint-endent Rowe has warned that this is not the last the borough will see of her.

"I will be keeping an eye on the place. You might find me sat in on those community meetings," she added.