“To be given Mount Isa (by the police commissioner) is a gift and I’m really looking forward to the challenges of the role,” Superintendent Guteridge said.

Superintendent Guteridge started in his role on March 7 and is settling into town with the support of the local community.

“It’s fantastic to be here, and I’m incredibly blessed to have the police officers and staff I’ve got here at the station as well,” he said.

“The community has been overwhelming in its support as well.”

Superintendent Guteridge admitted he had enormous shoes to fill after the recent retirement of former district officer Russell Miller.

“He was a very popular policeman and a very dedicated policeman and we wish him all the very best in his retirement,” he said.

But the new superintendent brings a lot of experience of his own to the role.

“I’ve been a police officer for 29 years, toured most of the state, spent some time in the Charters Towers Stock Squad and some time in the CIB (Criminal Investigation Branch),” he said.

“Most recently I was in Bundaberg and was there during the major flood event,” he said.

“After the flood I did work externally with other departments during the reconstruction phase, so I’ve seen both sides of the fence.”

Policing is in his blood with his father a police officer for 40 years and three brothers also in the force with plenty of local links.

“Dad served at Birdsville and Bedourie as well as Cloncurry and Isa. One brother has recently retired from Cloncurry and the other two are still serving,” he said.

Superintendent Guteridge said he was preparing for new challenges out west particularly around location, isolation and access to resources.

“In the south east corner we have a lot of resources but out here what we don’t have in terms of physical resources we have the resourcefulness to get the job done and it is imperative we continue to have a good relationship with the community to continue the way we have done,” he said.

One of the new initiatives Superintendent Guteridge will be rolling out is a community policing board.

“We want left field ideas from members of the community, business people and elders out here that can help us understand better what is happening with crime and maybe come up with strategies to address it,” he said.

“Not as a policing perspective, but as a community perspective.

“The role of the police is to address those matters the community cannot deal with themselves.”