The funeral for our colleague Sarah O'Connor last Thursday was an extraordinary event.

Too sad for many words but those from Sarah to us read by the priest were extraordinary and very moving for everyone there.

So many officers lined up in solemn, silent, sadness saying goodbye to a wonderful colleague.

It was quite something to see and to be part of.

As I walked back to the car afterwards I passed a group of kids on bikes just hanging out on the street. I wasn't very much in the mood to chat when they asked me "Why so many police around?".

Half expecting a dismissive or disrespectful response I was caught out when their response to my explanation was "Hope she rests in peace". Enough said.

On we go this week with policing in the city. We've seen some more good arrests in line with our commitment to reduce burglary and catch burglars.

We continue to push on reducing the number of people we suspect of crimes but haven't yet arrested. People suspected of crimes should be held to account for or cleared of those crimes asap. As long as it doesn't compromise professionalism or fairness then I do favour dealing with these things quickly.

Slow justice is no justice especially for victims.

We've seen a slight increase in the levels of satisfaction people feel about the service we give. That's good too and must remain at the core of what we do. Whatever the challenges we face we must not lose people's confidence in us and their satisfaction in how we treat them.

After all this job will always be about people, criminals we catch, victims we support and colleagues we work with. I know we need to get better at keeping people informed about how their case is going.

Just 2 more weeks for me as the local Police Commander before I hand over to Ch. Supt. Dave Thomas so this isn't a goodbye to Southampton message quite yet! Full council did me the honour of recognising my leaving last week.

I'm not one for pomp and circumstance but it was touching to receive the thanks of the Mayor and all the city councillors.