The chief constable will have notched up four decades as a serving police officer when he retires on September 30.

During that time he has risen through the ranks from a lowly cadet to the man with overall responsibility for using a budget of £53.6 million to look after a population of 286,390 with the help of 833 police officers and 341 civilian staff.

Looking ahead, Mr Cameron said: "There's going to have to be a huge adjustment made. Not just because you've lived and breathed policing for 40 years, but more so when you've had overall ultimate responsibility for delivering policing in Central Scotland."

Over the years he's picked up a wealth of experience, firstly with the former Ayrshire Constabulary and then the Strathclyde force, before moving to the top job with Central Scotland on August 1, 2000.

During those 40 years he's held a wide variety of roles in both uniform and CID; served as staff officer to Her Majesty's Inspector of
Constabulary; carried out a review of policing in Western Australia; and, prior to moving to the local force, was Strathclyde's assistant chief constable (operations).

On a rainy, winter's evening a radio bulletin that Central Scotland's then chief constable Willie Wilson had announced his retirement led Andrew Cameron to plan his next career move.

He said: "I decided that was the job for me and applied. But after a day of tests and an interview, I came home and told my wife that there was no way I'd get offered the post. However, later that day I received a phone call from Elizabeth Morton, the then clerk to the joint police board, to say the job was mine."

Mr Cameron admits his time as chief constable has been amongst the happiest of his police career.

"I've tried my level best to ensure that the police officers and staff of Central Scotland Police were very, very mindful of the fact that communities want to see police officers on their streets, showing an understanding of what is going on and building up trust. I've had a great opportunity over the last eight years to drive that forward.

"But I've been lucky because I've worked with exceptionally committed members of the force. I've asked them to take on a lot of change, be very flexible and to go that extra mile. They've done that and I've been very privileged to work with them, to lead and take forward Central Scotland Police and improve the service we have provided, as well as respond to the concerns of our communities in 21st century Scotland."

He added that this had been achieved working in partnership with the joint police board and the three local authorities – Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire – as well as other agencies.

Looking at the demands made on modern policing, the chief constable said: "Anti-social behaviour is a real area of concern. Unfortunately, a minority of young people behave in a way that isn't appropriate and in many cases the attitude of their parents is also a concern.

"An increasing number of parents abdicate their responsibilities and often don't know what their youngsters are up to. They're happy to give their youngsters £40 to spend at the weekend and never ask how it is being used.

"We're certainly living in a more affluent society but one which is showing less respect for authority.

"But the vast majority of youngster I meet, whether it be visiting schools or other organisations, are valuable members of their communities.

"However, we also have to realise that the proliferation of illegal drugs impact on our communities and we have been exceptionally vigorous in tackling drug dealers. We also work with our partners to really try and raise awareness of the dangers of drugs.

"We are keen to make sure young people can make choices around this issue and are fully aware of the devastating impact it can have on family life."
As a raw young recruit in Ayrshire working in a town of 10,000 people he only came across one person misusing drugs, whose cannabis growing activities were uncovered. Fast forward four decades and it's commonplace for up to 300 people in a town that size to be involved in drug taking.
Modern police officers also have to deal with far more organised crime.
"We have to ensure that we have resources available to work with the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency. Issues such as people trafficking and the proliferation of fake goods may not be as immediately identifiable as anti-social behaviour or drug dealing, but can have just as insidious an impact on people's day-to-day lives."
He added: "Through Safer Central and operations such as Overlord dealing with drugs, Reassurance with anti-social behaviour and Tundra with road safety, we've been able to address communities' concerns and made great strides in tackling problems."
Catching internet paedophiles and managing sex offenders living in the community are other areas where pressure is put on police resources. The threat of terrorism – Central Scotland Police was recently involved in a high profile case which saw an Alva man jailed for eight years – is ever present and one the force has to be alert to.
He said: "Over the last eight years I've tried to ensure we have the capacity to deal with all the specialist areas by finding ways of maximising the people we have available."
One of the first ways he set about tackling this was to get recognition that there needed to be additional funding for the force at both local and national levels. By increasing the budget, Mr Cameron was able to deliver on his promise of putting more officers into communities.
He also brought the officers on board with a radical shake-up in their shift pattern that not only makes more police available at times when most resources are needed, such as weekend evenings, but gives staff a better work-life balance.
The results can be seen in the force's performance review, according to the chief constable.
"Our crime detection rate has never been less than 60 per cent with the average nearer 64 per cent – that's the best in Scotland. We've not cracked policing and aren't about to rest on our laurels, but we've certainly moved forward.
"It's all about managing demand: our force service centre received 120,000 calls last year and we're always looking to improve the service we provide."
Reflecting on his time with the force, he said: "I've been here eight years and it's always important to make sure whoever the chief constable is they are constantly bringing new ideas and experiences. I'm 55 and admit I've not spent as much time with my family as I'd have probably liked in the past. But we've a grandson now and I'm looking forward to spending more time with him and the rest of my family."
But he candidly admits that he would probably have been just as happy to remain as a community cop in Ayrshire!
"In a job like that you are able to meet so many people and have the responsibility of protecting communities with people recognising the job you are doing. You do feel really good if you are in a position to deal with 'bad' people, such as the violent or dishonest, and provide a degree of normality for communities.
"It's been a dream come true for me to work with such a wonderful group of people – they are really dedicated and take a great pride in serving the public."