"What I've found is that the police over here have more personal knowledge of the local community and our criminals.
"They can walk into a lot of areas where the local people of interest are, and can talk to them on a one-on-one level and there is actually a good relationship on both sides, sometimes. It's a lot easier in an area like Wairarapa than it is in the city, in which things like that are near-on impossible."
Highlights from his time in Wairarapa included the success of the car squad and the arrest of those involved in the Miriam St fight, he said.
"It's a really fitting end for my time here to have resolution of this gang violence and that this violence has died away."
In his new role he will oversee special investigations, surveillance, serious crime, organised crime and drug operations in the Wellington district.
Mr Miller said it was good to know he was handing over the reins to someone he could trust.
"One of Barry's biggest strengths is his communication and his established relationship with the Wairarapa community.
"We can't go down to the coffee shop without having to say hello to four or five people and they all know him by his first name."
Mr Bysouth said taking on more of a management role would be a change of pace.
"I like to be in amongst it, I like to be in the trenches and in the streets with the staff, but I accept I will be more office-bound and that will be a challenge for me."
His policing career began in London in 1985 but he has been in Wairarapa since 2006, with a short break of several years to work in child protection in Wellington. Mr Miller had been a significant mentor, he said.
