New Dudley police chief a 'forward thinking' copper who loves locking up the bad guys

Then, after emphasising the strong value he places on team work, he adds with a smile: "I do also enjoy locking up the bad guys."

It is something he has had plenty of practice at during a 20-plus year career with West Midlands Police, most recently in bringing down the far-right group National Action as the force's lead on counter terrorism.

He says it was in this role where he truly saw the value of community policing, with law enforcement largely reliant on working closely with members of the public and other bodies and in order to snare terrorists.

It is a style of policing he believes will help drive down crime in his latest role as Dudley's new police commander.

"I know that here in Dudley we have excellent neighbourhood policing teams and benefit from having a neighbourhood task force who can target those individuals causing most harm to our communities," said Chief Superintendent Tagg, who has been in the role for almost a month.

"I think it is clear we can really push forward and address the priorities in tackling crime for Dudley.

"We can't do it in isolation and to get results we have to work in partnership. This means getting communities on board so they support our work, and also having a close working relationship with the local council, schools and health bodies."

Speaking to the Express & Star in his office at Brierley Hill Police Station, the 51-year-old from Redditch says those priorities include youth violence and knife crime, which were "not only having an impact on the victims, but also on communities as a whole".

"We need a more holistic approach," he said. "It's not a problem policing can solve on its own. Arresting people and locking them up is never going to be a solution.

"In some cases that's absolutely appropriate, but what we really need to do is to get ahead of that and intervene with young people at a much earlier stage to prevent crime from happening in the first place.

"This is why in Dudley officers have been reinvested back into schools. I really believe that having that engagement with young people at an early stage shows that policing isn't something that comes to them, it's becomes second nature to talk to a police officer. That's got to be the way forward for us."

Ch Supt Tagg also wants to focus on reducing "crimes that really matter to people", including anti-social behaviour, robbery, burglary and vehicle crime – the latter of which he has led on for the force.

"Another thing we really want to tackle is the local drug supply," he added. "Here in Dudley the misery of drugs is causing so much damage to communities, and we know it can be a driver for those other crimes.

"If we can deal with that, then I am confident we can stop some of the inquisitive crime."

He said he also wants to build on the success the region saw in "mobilising communities" during the Commonwealth Games. This includes getting more people involved in initiatives such as Street Watch and neighbourhood watch teams.

"I'm going to look at how we can get people involved in volunteering as specials, and how can we get young people engaged in our cadet programme and being youth crime commissioners," he said.

"We saw with the Commonwealth Games what happens when people come together. There's no reason why that can't extend to policing."

He welcomed the ongoing uplift to police numbers in the West Midlands, and said he was "looking to get more officers in community" across Dudley.

There was great value in an "increased police presence", he said, adding that he wanted to develop "long term solutions" to issues such as the wide-ranging crime that has plagued Lye High Street for years.

"We have to make sure officers are deployed where they are needed most," he said.

Ch Supt Tagg has arrived in the borough amid uncertainty over exactly where officers will be based in the years ahead.

The dilapidated Brierley Hill station where he is now based is set to close down, but its proposed replacement in Dudley town centre is in limbo after the force failed to meet Dudley Council's asking price for the land.

Ch Supt Tagg said talks were ongoing over a new headquarters for the borough, while the force was "actively exploring" options for a new station in Stourbridge.

He's aware that relations between West Midlands Police and the local council have not always been great, most notably during a row over travellers last year.

Meanwhile the force has also been accused of neglecting Dudley due to the lack of a permanent chief superintendent in recent months.

Ch Supt Tagg, who is the third borough commander in four months, insisted he was in it for the long haul.

"People in Dudley can rest assured that I'm absolutely committed to tackling crime in the borough," he said.