Keighley's new police boss has settled into his desk with a mission to keep up the pressure on drug pushers and to reduce the fear of crime.

Mark Whyman has arrived in the division from Bradford North with an experienced police pedigree, having been a leading officer dealing with the Bradford riots in 2001.

He has taken up the job of divisional commander while Chief Superintendent Graham Sunderland is away on a senior commanders' course.

But Superintendent Whyman does not see himself just holding the fort.

"I'm looking to stay on here in Keighley. It's important we keep a continuity and I want to continue the good work already put in place," he said. "Keighley is a complex division with a number of challenges but fortunately we have a number of good initiatives set in motion - particularly with the anti-crime partnerships."

His new post has brought with it the job of overseeing the fight against drug crime in the whole of the Bradford area, a role involving working with the drug and alcohol action team, dealing with the education and treatment of drug offenders and enforcement.

So one of his main challenges is to make it harder for lifestyle criminals - especially those dealing in drugs - to continue their criminal ways.

The "Mr Bigs" of the drugs world would continue to be a major target because of the links between drugs, robbery and theft, he pledged.

And a major element of the fight was the Crackdown on Crime initiative.

"In the past seven months 220 dealers have been arrested. That is a phenomenal rate and half of them have been dealing in hard drugs - class A," said Supt Whyman.

But it was also important to assure the public that officers were available to react quickly in response to crime and that crime was, in fact, falling.

The public needed to feel safe, especially in their homes, but they could help the police by ensuring they kept their homes secure. Up to a fifth of all burglaries were sneak-in crimes.

Supt Whyman is married with three children and is a triathlete in his spare time. He joined the force as a 21-year-old and for the past five years has worked at senior operations level.