Lincolnshire Police Chief Constable Bill Skelly. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Lincolnshire Police Chief Constable Bill Skelly will retire in December after 31 years in policing.
The 53-year-old, who was born on the east coast of Scotland, joined Lincolnshire Police from Devon and Cornwall in 2017. A year later he looked to leave the force to become Police Scotland’s chief constable, but he didn’t get the role.
Bill Skelly has been living with his wife Jane close to the police HQ in Nettleham. He will step down from his role on December 18. Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones will appoint Bill’s successor and the search for a new chief constable will begin soon.
The retiring chief constable said: “It’s been a privilege and an honour to lead this force. There have been many challenges during my four years as chief here in Lincolnshire and what I’ve seen is a workforce who constantly rise up and respond to any difficulties put in their path.
“I am proud to have been amongst colleagues who come into work day in, and day out, determined to make a difference and improve the lives of others wherever they can.
“I am absolutely delighted to be finishing a wonderful career at the very top of policing, here in Lincolnshire. It has made me and my family immensely happy to be amongst such warm and supporting people who welcomed us from the very first day.
“I joined this force with an intention to look after my staff and to provide the public of Lincolnshire with the best possible service by making sure our resources were placed in the right place at the right time.”
Lincolnshire Police Chief Constable Bill Skelly. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
During his career, Bill has worked in roles including leading the Immigration Crime Team at New Scotland Yard and being appointed in 2008 by Her Majesty the Queen as her Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland.
He has also tried to persuade the government that it needed to provide more funding to Lincolnshire Police and hopes it “might hear this and deliver more funding in the months and years ahead”.
He added: “We have been allocated the money to recruit an extra 130 officers as part of the national uplift, but the conversation around better distribution of cash for policing has to continue.”
He is now looking forward to retirement when he intends to spend more time with his two adult daughters and wider family, as well as looking for other opportunities to contribute to community wellbeing.
Lincolnshire Police Chief Constable Bill Skelly. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
PCC Marc Jones paid tribute to his policing colleague, saying: “It has been an honour and a privilege to have appointed and then worked with Chief Constable Skelly in our joint aim of keeping the communities of Lincolnshire safe.
“Bill has left Lincolnshire Police a very different Force to the one he joined in 2017 and it’s no exaggeration to say that his mark will be felt for years to come.
“He cares passionately for the welfare of those in his charge and has always strived to improve the wellbeing of officers and staff alike, something he can be rightly proud of.”
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The 32-year-old man and 30-year-old woman arrested in the murder probe of an 11-year-old boy in Lincoln have both been released on police bail, without any charges.
The man was arrested on suspicion of murder and the woman on suspicion of manslaughter after an incident at a house on Geneva Street on St Giles in Lincoln.
Police were called to the house at 10pm on Friday night, January 22.
The 11-year-old boy was found unwell at the scene and was taken to hospital for treatment.
He was pronounced dead a short time later.
At the time Lincolnshire Police said the death was unexplained and it was treated as murder.
The man and the woman arrested at the weekend were released on police bail on Monday evening.
Lincolnshire Police said in a statement on Monday night:
“Once again, we’d like to remind people that this is an active investigation and that an 11-year-old boy has sadly lost his life.
“Speculative comments are not only deeply upsetting to those involved but can potentially undermine our investigation.
“If you have any information that can help, call 101 or email [email protected] quoting incident 472 of January 22.”
Ten people from Boston have been given fines for breaching COVID-19 regulations by driving dangerously in supermarket car parks.
Officers were called after three separate reports of dangerous driving in the car parks of Lidl and Tesco in Wyberton Fen, as well as on Marsh Lane Industrial Estate in Boston.
All three incidents took place and were reported to police between 5pm and 6pm on Sunday, January 24, though it is unsure if they were connected at all.
When officers arrived, the drivers were seen doing donut manoeuvres and racing in the snow.
A total of 10 people were given £200 fines for breaking lockdown guidelines, but this will be reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days, due to all being first time offenders.
As well as the COVID-19 fines, two of the vehicles were also seized as a result of being uninsured, with drivers reported.
A traffic offence report was also submitted after one driver was seen to be driving not just dangerously but out of control.
Inspector Fran Harrod of Lincolnshire Police said: “We would like to thank the public for bringing these incidents of dangerous driving to our attention.
“This is not only extremely dangerous to those taking part but to others in these areas.
“While we continue to engage and explain with the public, this was a blatant breach of the restrictions which will not be tolerated.”
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