New '˜visionary' Cambridgeshire police chief constable appointed

Cambridgeshire police has a new chief constable.
Nick DeanNick Dean
Nick Dean

Nick Dean was appointed to the role following a meeting of the Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Panel on Monday.

Chief Constable Dean had been recommended for the top post by Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner Jason Ablewhite after incumbent Alec Wood announced he was retiring.

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Mr Ablewhite said: “I am delighted to be able to appoint Nick Dean as the new Chief Constable for Cambridgeshire.

“When I set out on this process it was important that I recruited a chief officer who could bring the vision, determination and resilience required to lead the constabulary.

“Nick performed very well throughout the whole assessment process and demonstrated great leadership skills. His understanding and inclusive approach to partnership working puts him in a good place to support the priorities in my Police and Crime Plan.

“As a visionary chief constable Nick will build on the excellent work undertaken by his predecessor Alec Wood to continuously innovate and improve the quality of the county’s police service whilst also protecting our communities and meeting public expectations.

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“His energy and passion will help us meet the challenges ahead.”

Chief Constable Dean’s career began at Norfolk Constabulary in 1992 after serving in the Royal Air Force in Norfolk.

Deputy chief constable since September 2016, Nick developed and implemented Norfolk’s Ethics and Integrity Board which received praise from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services in its recent inspection programme.

Chief Constable Dean was also responsible for overseeing Norfolk’s new policing model and had continued to lead on the county’s response to rural crime.

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Before that he led the County Policing Command of some 1,000 personnel covering six geographic policing districts as chief superintendent between December 2011 and June 2013, and was assistant chief constable until 2016.

During that time he was responsible for local policing which included the County Policing Command and Safeguarding and Investigations Commands. He was also an active member in a number of partnership boards.

The new chief constable said: “It is a privilege to be appointed the next Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire. Throughout the process I have been made to feel welcome and look forward to building on the leadership provided by Alec Wood over the past few years.

“It is both an exciting and challenging opportunity and one which I am really looking forward to. Cambridgeshire is an excellent force and, although sorry to leave Norfolk, I know that I am inheriting a professional and committed organisation who have the communities of Cambridgeshire in their hearts.”

Alec Wood will continue in his role as chief constable until the end of September 2018 when his replacement will take over.