AN experienced police commander who has taken over the helm in south Worcestershire has vowed to combat the paedophiles who prey on children.

Supt Kevin Purcell, already an experienced detective and commander (south Worcestershire is his third command role), said he would continue to build on the success achieved by his predecessor, supt Mark Travis, who also has a new role within West Mercia Police.

The father-of-two who also lives in the county he is responsible for policing has been a commander in north Worcestershire for the last two and a half years and before that was a commander in Herefordshire. Supt Purcell said he appreciated he was taking over from 'a strong command' in Supt Travis who is now the superintendent for change management and public contact, taking on his new role on December 8. Supt Purcell said supt Travis' strong work on tackling drug crime has allowed him to focus on other issues including problems connected to the night time economy (pubs, clubs and bars). However, he said tackling illegal drugs would continue and remain on his radar.

The 49-year-old has been a police officer for 25 years and was a detective inspector 11 years ago where he tackled car crime, burglaries and drugs. He was also a detective chief inspector on the serious and organised crime unit where his job was to understand how crime networks work so he could break them from street level drug dealing through to organised gangs.

He said: "The key thing is public protection, particularly in areas like domestic violence and child sexual exploitation. We need to do as much as we can in those areas. We know from other parts of the country we need need to be vigilant and protect the most vulnerable. It is recognised that the opportunity for children to be exploited both online and in person have increased. It's fair to say this is something the force is investing more money and resources into."

Supt Purcell said this would mean extra officers devoted to tackling these issues although precise details of costings and staff numbers have yet to be made public.

He said in relation to Worcester itself he wanted to make it as safe a place as possible so people could enjoy its history and heritage which meant addressing poor behaviour and binge drinking in Worcester city centre and other parts of the patch. Since taking over the reins he has already had to deal with a drunken brawl which led to seven arrests in Worcester on Saturday. The arrests were among 23 that same evening which meant city cells were full. He said: "Instead of getting people out on patrol we're dealing with drunken behaviour. I'm putting the message out that enough is enough.

"If we get this right we want everyone to understand what lovely place south Worcestershire is to visit. It is about building on that reputation. Worcester as a city is a beautiful place."

He believes 'visible policing' is also important, a view his predecessor Mark Travis, also shared - that the public need to see the work of the police being done.

Supt Purcell also said the strong partnership work with other organisations, the fire service, ambulance service, Worcestershire County Council and the district councils like Worcester city, Malvern Hills and Wychavon would also continue. He is chairman of the local resilience forum for Worcestershire which is where partners come together to tackle emergency situations such as flooding.

Supt Purcell is one of the most followed officers in West Mercia on social media site Twitter and is a prolific Twitter user, using it to get out key public messages. Follow him @SuptKevPurcell for updates about initiatives and arrests in south Worcestershire.