Thames Valley Police chief constable announces retirement

Francis Habgood will leave his role next year

THE chief constable of Thames Valley Police (TVP) is to retire next spring.

Francis Habgood will leave his post at the end of March 2019, after four years in the role.

His career in policing has spanned more than 32 years, 15 of which have been with Thames Valley Police.

Mr Habgood said: “At the end March 2019, my term as chief constable concludes and I have decided that it is the right time for both me and the force that I retire.

“I will always love policing and it’s been an honour to serve the public, most recently as chief constable of Thames Valley Police.

“Thames Valley Police is an excellent force and I am privileged to lead the dedicated officers, staff and volunteers who work for us.

“In the coming months I remain fully committed to meeting the challenges we face and will continue to work tirelessly to make our communities safer.”

Police and crime commissioner Anthony Stansfeld praised Mr Habgood as an ‘outstanding’ chief constable who had helped ensure TVP is one the best policing constabularies in the country.

Mr Stansfeld said: “It is with considerable regret that I have received notice from the chief constable, Francis Habgood, that he will be leaving TVP.

“He has been an outstanding chief constable and throughout the last four years we have had an excellent relationship and I will be very sorry to lose him.

“During this period Thames Valley Police has been rated by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Service as one of the highest-ranked police forces in the country and this is greatly down to his leadership.

“The chief constable will continue to lead Thames Valley Police over the next five months as we now enter a period of recruitment for his successor.”

The process for selecting a preferred candidate will be completed before Christmas.