An open letter to Ken Jones, Chief Constable designate of Sussex.

Dear Mr Jones, Welcome to Sussex. Your arrival is eagerly anticipated, not just by members of Sussex Police but by all of us who care about the quality of life in the county.

You are a lucky man. Although you are taking on an extraordinarily challenging job, you will be doing so knowing you have the good will of all your staff and the fervent wishes of the rest of us for your success. Sadly, you are taking over a force, many of whose members have lost heart and are profoundly demoralised.

However, I know you are under no illusions about the complexity of the problems ahead of you.

There will be a list of priorities to dominate your attention, not least the need to lift the morale of the front-line officers and dispel public cynicism and disillusion about policing in Sussex - things your predecessor Paul Whitehouse appeared to disregard.

Few regret his departure. While he may have been intelligent, he was a charmless man with a streak of belligerence who could, nevertheless, turn on a sort of urbane sophistication when the need arose.

The Home Secretary, David Blunkett, was absolutely right to metaphorically box the ears of the then chairman of the Sussex Police Authority, Margaret Johnson, effectively demanding the sacking of Mr Whitehouse to restore public confidence. Hopefully, your relationship with the new chairman David Rogers will be amenable.

You will have intimate knowledge of the debacle of the shooting of James Ashley in St Leonards and the later promotion, with three years' backdated pay, of two of the officers involved in planning the disastrous operation.

You may take the view, as most of us do, that Mr Whitehouse's three-week suspension was too lenient. And I suspect you were as embarrassed as the rest of us about the way he handled himself publicly over his daughter's misdeeds.

Happily, we can now put all that behind us.

Your record, starting as a policeman on the beat in Sheffield, 30 years ago, is impressive and will inspire confidence from your staff.

Your work on the ground and academically, your stints fighting corruption in Hong Kong and studying private policing in America, amount to a breadth of experience from which Sussex can only benefit.

I am not entirely sure what your commitment to "community policing" amounts to but I look forward to being educated.

But however warm your welcome may be, there is a rider that must be added.

The legacy of mistrust, handed down by your predecessor, means we shall all be watching you and monitoring your performance carefully. Don't be offended by the wariness.

I offer you my own greeting with some gentle Irish verse: "May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back and may the sun shine warm upon your face."

Yours, etc.