Andover News
Ian's long service is rewarded
8:00am Monday 20th February 2012
ANDOVER police inspector Ian Whyton has seen many changes in his 21 years with the force.
To commemorate the milestone he has received a medal for 20 years of service to Hampshire Constabulary – with about 15 of those years spent in Andover.
Insp Whyton said: “This is a great station and throughout my service here it has always been full of good police officers who are always keen to do well for the residents of Andover.”
The 45-year-old, who grew up in the town and attended the old John Hanson School, became a special constable in 1989 before joining the regular police force two years later.
He then left for the Isle of Wight, before returning to Andover in 2000 and becoming inspector in 2005.
Following a posting to Eastleigh and the New Forest, Insp Whyton again returned to patrol the town last year.
The father-of-two said: “It’s amazing how much it has all changed.
“There’s a huge impact from mobile technology in policing as now we have to do as much tracking on the Internet as we do on foot and the introduction of mobile phones has changed policing completely.”
When Insp Whyton first arrived at Andover Police Station, it was manned 24 hours a day by police officers.
The young officer – who decided to change careers after doing an apprenticeship with the RAC – was first issued with just a truncheon and handcuffs, which only became a standard part of the uniform two years later, along with the introduction of computers.
Despite a huge increase in the town’s population, Insp Whyton said that the number of crimes have gone down.
He said: “We used to have 6,000 crimes a year back in the mid 90s.
Now it’s reduced to just under 4,000 a year. It’s not all down to good policing but also because of decriminalisation.”
More recently, Insp Whyton has helped with the London riots last summer and is part of the police presence at many music festivals.