Supt Graves joined Trafford police in February 2006 when he became the head of the division's Partnerships and Criminal Justice team.

The department - that works alongside CID and operations - provides the services that underpin front-end policing such as the borough's custody offices, neighbourhood teams and partnership projects with Trafford council.

Mr Graves has more than 20 years policing experience and last year received a long service medal. The married father of three began his career in Bury and is a passionate Bolton Wanderers fan.

Before transferring to Trafford, he spent the previous ten years working in the Manchester city centre area and helped push through the cities first ASBOs.

He explained: "I have enjoyed the experience of working with a broad spectrum of diverse communities, on a wide range of policing issues. That said there have also been some striking similarities wherever I have worked.

"Firstly, there is always a strong desire amongst residents to make their neighbourhoods a safer place for their families and neighbours.

"And secondly, when a community becomes galvanised into action, there is always the real potential for change."

He added: "In the past 12 months, I have seen many changes across Trafford in the fight against crime and disorder.

"We have seen the development and growth of our neighbourhood policing teams, with the expansion of our PCSOs and the integration of special constables.

"We have seen the introduction of a mobile police station, and the capacity to deploy our staff right into the heart of neighbourhoods.

"Working in partnership, we have also seen the development of the safer area groups and the introduction of neighbourhood forums giving residents a greater influence on how we provide services."

But Mr Graves admits there are still plenty of areas where there is room for improvement.

"We also know that we have a challenge," he explained. "We have to tackle the rise in vehicle crime driven by the availability of high value in-car technical equipment.

"We have to focus on reducing harm crime, especially violence related to domestic abuse, the alcohol fuelled violence that threats the growth of our evening economy, and the threat of violence faced by our young people.

"As the public's guardians, we embrace this challenge, but recognise that it is a challenge for us all to face.

"In order to achieve success, it is important that communities have influence on how their neighbourhoods are policed - this is one of the foundations on which we have built our neighbourhood policing ethos."