The man charged with turning around the beleaguered Grampian Police force and renewing public faith in its operation officially took up his post yesterday.
Taking over the role vacated by Dr Ian Oliver, Mr Andrew Brown, 53, immediately demonstrated he was a team player when he made meeting the media one of his first tasks.
In a strong show of solidarity he was flanked by his deputy, Mr David Beattie, who effectively ran the force during the later days of Dr Oliver's reign, and assistant chief constable Peter Wilson.
He said: ''I see this as a team and we will be working very much as a team.''
Mr Brown added: ''I am delighted to be here. This is a force of many fine people and we will be making the best use of all of them.''
The former assistant chief constable of Lothian and Borders refused to be drawn on immediate plans, but said: ''I will be finding out about the force and the people.''
He takes over at a time when morale in the Grampian force has hit rock bottom and a number of external inquiries into operations are ongoing. Dr Oliver left a trail of controversies in his wake - including the inquiry into schoolboy Scott Simpson's murder, and his alleged relationship with a young married mother.
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