BOROUGH Commander David Musker is leaving Croydon after being promoted, with his successor expected to be announced imminently. Here are some of the key events in his near three years in charge of policing the borough. August 7, 2011: Croydon's borough commander Adrian Roberts is seconded by Scotland Yard as rioting breaks out in Tottenham following the police shooting of Mark Duggan.August 8, 2011: Chief Superintendent David Musker, then borough commander in Wandsworth, asked to take command in Croydon as rioting and looting spiral out of control. He took over at 9pm, at the height of the disorder.September 2011: Chief Supt Musker replaces Adrian Roberts as Croydon's borough commander on a permanent basis.December 2011: Croydon's most senior officer defends police response to the riots while giving evidence during the independent review into what happened. March 20, 2012: Seven people injured after explosion at a shooting range inside Croydon police station, in Park Lane. Chief Supt Musker describes the incident as an "industrial accident". July 2012: Rejects allegations made by a police officer in the Guardian newspaper that nine vans full of police officers were turned away from Croydon during the riots. "I can give the communities of Croydon my assurance that all resources deployed to the borough were utilised," he says. December 2012: Following a period of sick leave, Chief Supt Musker leaves Croydon for four months to attend a "senior police strategic command course". Richard Wood, from Greenwich, made acting borough commander in Croydon.May 2013: Despite a drop in overall crime, describes sharp rise in domestic violence in Croydon as "hugely worrying". Blames the recession and makes the issue his main priority.August 2013: Admits his officers have no viable leads on who attacked Gary Hayward, the father-of-three who suffered devastating head injuries when he and his father were set upon by a large group of youths in Central Parade, New Addington, in October 2011. Gary's mum says his attackers "will be laughing" as investigation shelved. September 2013: All but one of Croydon's police stations is closed or has opening hours cut significantly as part of police funding cuts. Chief Supt Musker says new community policing model is "what the community has asked for". December 2013: Defends attempts to remove soup kitchen from Queen's Gardens by saying people use it "in order to spend money on alcohol rather than food".April 2014: Welcomes figures which show a 9.5 per cent drop in crime in Croydon, including progress in tackling robberies and burglaries. However, domestic violence and rape increase.May 2014: Promoted to commander in latest round of promotions.
