Warwickshire Police Chief Constable Andy Parker to retire in March

Mr Parker has served as Assistant Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable and Chief Constable in Warwickshire. He was appointed Chief Constable on December 1 2011.

On announcing his retirement Mr Parker said: “It has been an immense privilege to serve the public of Warwickshire and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I have been fortunate to work with an outstanding workforce, a terrific public and some very dedicated and professional partner agencies.

“I had originally planned to retire after thirty years but the prospect of working with the newly elected Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and the need to embed and develop the strategic alliance was too exciting a prospect to miss and I have to say the decision to stay on for a further two years was the right one.

“The alliance is embedded, crime is at its lowest levels for many years and the governance of policing in Warwickshire is in good hands. I feel the time is now right to bring in a new Chief to take the force forward through the next phase of development.

“Whilst it has been necessary for me to announce my retirement early to allow for the process of recruiting a new Chief to commence, there is still much work to be done and I am hopeful that the change of leadership will be seamless allowing Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police to focus on the important business of protecting people from harm.”

The Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Ball will now be starting the process of recruiting a new Chief Constable for Warwickshire.