And he says it’s been an honour to serve the community where he was brought up and lives to this day, and hopes that his tenure has built strong foundations to build on.

Speaking about his time in the role, Chief Inspector McMurdo told Fraser Clarke of the Lennox Herald : “I’ve worked in the police for 28 years; before I came down here I’d enjoyed a successful and varied career. Mostly in Glasgow. I’d worked in uniform and plain clothes.

“But I can genuinely say, without a shadow of a doubt, that being in charge of the local area where I grew up has been by far the biggest privilege I’ve had, and the most satisfying time I’ve spent in the police.

Chief Inspector McMurdo’s tenure started with large-scale riots in Brucehill and then Bonhill, which Ryan admits presented a challenge.

But he says that he hopes local officers have built stronger relationships with the communities they serve – with anti-social behaviour in Balloch Park during the summer months something he was especially keen to crack down on.

Ryan, who is moving to a new role focused on service delivery and support based at Garshake, continued: “It’s not all been plain sailing.

“The biggest impact we had was the riots in Brucehill and Bonhill last year, which were really challenging for the service as a whole, for my officers and it was clearly something that impacted on the confidence of the local community.

“From living here and not just being the Local Area Commander, I know the community in West Dunbartonshire are a special bunch.

“I know so many people personally as well as professionally.

“The community spirit is tangible. That helped us as a community to get through those challenging times.

A successful Blue Light community day was held at Levengrove Park in Dumbarton.

“I think that spirit is perfectly demonstrated by the Blue Light Day we had at Levengrove. It was great to see the whole community out and coming together for that fantastic day.

“It came after the riots and it felt like a defining moment.

“We’d been through the challenging time, so it was fitting we had such a fantastic day.”

Chief Inspector McMurdo will be replaced as Local Area Commander by Chief Inspector Kirsten McLatchie, who has worked as a Communities Inspector in Clydebank.

And Ryan is confident that the good work will continue.

He added: “Kirsten will bring a new drive and fresh ideas. She is someone who really cares about policing in the community.

“ I feel like we’ve created a solid base going forward that she will be able to enhance.

“Morven Sutherland, my communities inspector, is staying in post and she’ll give the continuity.

“Whilst I was a local resident, I didn’t have experience in policing the area.

“She was an amazing support for me with her local knowledge and knowledge of the personnel I was dealing with.”