BOLTON'S new police chief is hoping to bring the things he learned in Bury to the borough.

Superintendent Rick Jackson starts in Bolton on Monday, returning to the borough after a three-year stint in charge in Bury.

A Detective Chief Inspector in Bolton for three years, Supt Jackson said: “I’m updating rather than starting afresh, that was the predominant reason for it being me.”

He added there will be changes operationally in Bolton as new systems are put in place and Greater Manchester-wide plans are implemented.

During his time as superintendent in Bury, Supt Jackson said he had promoted close working with the diverse communities and hoped to bring a similar enthusiasm and culture of working with the public to Bolton.

Supt Jackson said: “I’m the figurehead. I have great staff who have done fantastic engagement work.

“The community have stood up and taken it forward, the level of engagement with all sectors, not just faith elements, we have really strong links and that means when we have issues we have immediate access to spokespeople in that community to give a sense of balance and restore normality.”

He said this had been particularly effective when two men were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences in Whitefield at the beginning of the month.

Supt Jackson said: “Like in Whitefield, the two men being locked up, something of that nature does cause concerns and it’s incidents like that where we work with the community to get a sense of the concern and to make sure we impart enough information and mitigate these concerns.”

He said that while Bury has large Jewish and Muslim communities, Bolton has large communities from Hungary and Somalia. He said both boroughs also had widely different social and economic areas.

Supt Jackson replacing Paul Walker who has been in the post for a six-week interim period after Supt Steve Howard stepped down. after taking up the post in January. Supt Walker will be taking over permanently as district superintendent in Bury.

Supt Jackson said the major difference in managing the two districts was the size of Bolton.

He added: “It’s been fantastic in Bury but it’s time to move on. It’s an obvious move. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with the partners and community members I used to have and seeing any changes."