Your Safer Neighbourhood Team
Inspector Damien Kelly is a senior police officer, currently leading the South Shropshire Neighbourhood Policing Teams. In this role, he oversees the strategic coordination of policing priorities across seven local areas, working closely with communities to build trust, enhance public safety, and improve confidence in local policing.
Of particular note, in 2020 Inspector Kelly introduced Operation Whitebeam—South Shropshire’s targeted response to rural acquisitive crime. The initiative delivers a comprehensive strategy to prevent offences, prepare potential victims, pursue offenders, and bring them to justice. It has become a cornerstone of the areas approach to tackling rural crime, combining intelligence-led policing with community resilience.
Before joining the police, Inspector Kelly served in the Royal Air Force from 2004 to 2008, supporting airborne forces with the maintenance of parachute equipment systems during international training deployments in Cyprus, Belize, the USA, Oman, and beyond. His commitment to service continued through a distinguished career in the RAF Air Cadets (RAFAC), where from 2008 to 2021 he held senior roles including Squadron Commander, Wing Shooting Officer, and Regional Shooting & Armaments Compliance Officer. In this capacity, he was responsible for overseeing shooting standards and compliance across Wales and the West of England, supporting hundreds of qualified staff across six wing areas.
Inspector Kelly brings a wealth of operational experience, a deep commitment to public service, and a proven track record of leadership in both military and civilian sectors. His approach is rooted in collaboration, integrity, and a drive to make a meaningful difference in the communities he serves.
Crimes
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Priority:
Action taken:
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Priority:
To be visible, accessible and responsive
Action taken:
Maintaining a strong presence across our communities through high-visibility patrols, targeted operations and regular engagement opportunities in areas identified through community concerns, crime patterns and local intelligence.
These patrols are designed not only to deter criminal activity and anti-social behaviour but also to provide opportunities for residents to speak with us directly about issues affecting their community.
Community engagement remains a priority. Through police surgeries, Mobile Police Stations, community meetings and local events, we are committed to listening to your concerns and working collaboratively with residents, businesses and partner agencies to tackle local issues.
We will continue to advertise and host police surgeries and mobile police stations to provide an opportunity for residents to meet us in an informal setting. These sessions allow you to discuss concerns, report ongoing issues, seek crime prevention advice and find out more about the work we do.
We will provide regular updates on social media, Neighbourhood Matters and local meetings, we will continue to share information about policing activity, community issues, ongoing initiatives and successful outcomes. -
Priority:
Road Safety - based on resident feedback, crime data and ongoing local concerns
Action taken:
We will:
- review available speed and collision data for this area
- focus police visibility on high risk locations
- consider speed surveys and enforcement -
Priority:
Rural Crime - based on resident feedback, crime data and ongoing local concerns
Action taken:
We will:
- Carry out high intensity targeted patrols focusing on vulnerable locations and properties.
- Visit local farms and offer preventative advice with specialist departments
- Offer farmers and rural residents Smartwater -
Priority:
Drug dealing - based on resident feedback, crime data and ongoing local concerns
Action taken:
We will:
- Deal robustly with people committing offences, making use of available legislation to divert offenders and prevent harm.
- Ensure officers are visible in areas of heightened concern.
- Conduct further neighbourhood surveys to identify areas of concern.
- Provide crime prevention advice to local neighbourhoods being targeted by offenders