Police chief announces immediate retirement, saying it is ‘right time’ to leave

THE CHIEF constable of North Yorkshire Police has announced his immediate retirement.

Dave Jones, who joined the police nearly 32 years ago, said it was “time to step back and be with my family”.

Mr Jones had led the North Yorkshire force since 2013. In 2016, he also took temporary charge of South Yorkshire Police during one of the most turbulent times in its history, after its chief constable David Crompton was forced out of office in the wake of the Hillsborough inquests.

Last year, Mr Jones was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for distinguished service in the New Year Honours List.

He had been due to retire after 30 years’ service but had agreed to extend his time with North Yorkshire Police to provide continuity of leadership at a time of other retirements in its chief officer team, the force said.

In a statement, Mr Jones said: “I have been proud to serve the community for nearly 32 years, but it is now time to step back and be with my family.”

He said the force was “firmly on the road to a modernised service”, adding: “This seemed like the right time for me to hand over the baton to a new leader, who can take the service on this new stage of the journey.”

The National Police Chiefs’ Council praised Mr Jones’s service to policing, with chairman Sara Thornton saying he had been a committed member of the council and had led its work on both rural crime and citizens in policing.

She said: “The readiness with which he transferred to South Yorkshire Police when they urgently needed help impressed all those involved.

“He was insightful, energetic and completely selfless.”

North Yorkshire Police Commissioner, Julia Mulligan, said Mr Jones’s service had been “exceptional”.

She said the force’s deputy chief constable, Lisa Winward, would assume temporary command until a permanent replacement could be recruited.