New Katanning officer-in-charge David Costello prioritises community safety and support across the region

Katanning’s new police officer-in-charge Sen. Sgt David Costello is already making his presence felt, bringing a strong community focus to the role since stepping into the position last month.

Sen. Sgt Costello said his connection to the town began years ago during his time working with Albany detectives, when Katanning left a lasting impression on him.

The early interest has now come full circle with Sen. Sgt Costello leading a team of 22 officers in the regional centre, a responsibility he said was a key drawcard.

“Coming to a place like this as the officer-in-charge and leading a medium-sized team to support communities was very attractive to me,” he said.

“I’ve got a nice mix of people who have been here a while who have got fantastic community knowledge, and I’ve got people who haven’t been here so long, so we’re really building a team to make sure my number one priority is achieved which is community safety and community support.”

Central to his leadership is a strong belief that police are part of the community.

“The police officers here are not my police officers, they’re the community’s police officers, we’re all the community’s police officers,” Sen. Sgt Costello said.

His approach centres on strengthening relationships and ensuring locals feel safe and supported.

My motto coming in here is focused on community safety, ensuring people have a positive relationship with their police

Sen. Sgt Costello said this would be achieved through increased visibility and community engagement.

“We’re very much out in the community through local engagement with our external agencies but also being in that community space — liaising with people, business owners, and getting feedback from them as to what they want from their police,” he said.

Family violence is another key priority with the new OIC determined to strengthen support networks while holding offenders accountable.

“Unfortunately, family violence continues to be something that police deal with lots but I’m really focused on my relationships with Anglicare, and child protection family services to make sure we’ve got support for victims of family violence, victim survivors and also coming down on perpetrators to make sure that they’re held accountable for their actions,” Sen. Sgt Costello said.

He is also placing strong emphasis on the wellbeing of the region’s farming community, particularly those facing isolation and financial pressures due to world issues at the moment.

“I have a massive focus on the welfare of farmers who are isolated,” he said.

“I’ve been liaising with schools, and the Department of Communities to make sure that we’re giving support to the people who are vulnerable, isolated and feeling the pressure financially.

“There were concerns going into seeding and that’s a big focus of mine as well, to make sure people feel supported and that they can lean on us should they need to.”

Sen. Sgt Costello said he was passionate about building strong connections across the Katanning community and surrounding area.

“I’m excited to be here, in regards to the fact that we have a community of about 5000 people and then the outskirts and we can engage with them and have a healthy relationship,” he said.