Chris Haward will become the new Lincolnshire Police Chief Constable, after impressing councillors in the Police and Crime Panel on Thursday night.
Mr Haward, currently the East Midlands Deputy Chief Constable, will be offered a £161,115 yearly salary — 12.7% higher than the advertised £142,896.
He said: “I am absolutely delighted to be taking on the role of the new Chief Constable in Lincolnshire.
“The role presents some exciting challenges and the force has grown a strong national reputation as an innovator which I look forward to building upon.”
Marc Jones, Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “I am delighted to be able to bring a senior officer of Chris’ experience and commitment to Lincolnshire.
“He has a fantastic track record of fighting crime and managing community policing and his appointment is another positive step forward in the drive to create an effective force Lincolnshire can be proud of.”
He added: “I very much look forward to working with Chris to keep our communities safe.”
Marc Jones, Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner. Picture: Calvin Robinson.
On Thursday night, Mr Haward impressed councillors during their grilling with Councillor Richard Butroid saying: “We look forward to working with Mr Haward going forward”.
Cllr Graham Marsh added: “It will be a pleasure to welcome you to the east and show you around.”
Growing up in Zambia and Botswana as a child, Mr Haward said “diversity, respect, fairness and equality are absolutely paramount to everything I do as a person and a chief constable”.
He returned to Yorkshire for secondary school and joined Leicestershire Police in 1991, where he worked his way up to Chief Superintendent.
In 2016, Mr Haward moved to Derbyshire Constabulary as Assistant Chief Constable and took over East Midlands Special Operations Unit in early 2018 as Deputy Chief Constable.
As well as being East Midlands’ DCC, Mr Haward is also counter-terrorism lead for the region.
The process of searching for a new chief constable was restarted in October following “procedural complications”.
The previous appointment process which identified Paul Gibson as the replacement for Bill Skelly, who retires on December 18, was stopped by “issues relating to the probable disclosure of candidates’ information” to the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Panel.
Dr Gibson did not apply for the post on the second occasion and PCC Marc Jones assured that the procedural issues that halted the first selection process did not arise from any aspect of Dr Gibson’s application, interview or nomination.
Proposed terms and conditions have indicated the contract will be for the current maximum of five years, and that Mr Haward will buy a property close to Lincolnshire Police’s Nettleham HQ.
Mr Haward will take over the role on December 19.
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Marc Jones, the re-elected Conservative Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said that his work is not done, as he’s looking forward to a further three years in the role.
Mr Jones won with a 57.9% majority of the poll from the first round of counting, with 102,813 votes from a 31% turnout. A total of 177,528 votes were placed county-wide.
The nearest candidate was Labour’s Rosanne Kirk, with a 19% share of the votes, with Lincolnshire Independent David Williams securing the third spot with 10%.
The breakdown of the votes cast on Thursday, May 6, and counted on Saturday, may 8, was:
Marc Jones (Conservative) – 102,813
Rosanne Kirk (Labour) – 34,310
David Williams (Lincolnshire Independent) – 18,375
Ross Pepper (Liberal Democrats) – 10,172
Peter Escreet (Reform UK) – 6,101
Marc Jones: “More work to do”
“It’s very gratifying to have concluded today on the first count, that was a really positive thing for what I’ve delivered so far,” said Mr Jones.
“But I’m under no illusions having spoken to many around the county there’s an awful lot more work to do.”
He said he wanted to assure the public that “nothing was taken for granted”.
Rosie Kirk – Labour – 2nd place
Labour’s candidate Rosie Kirk said she was “thrilled for her party” across all three elections that had taken place in Lincolnshire this week.
“The votes that we got was incredible. Our message got through and to actually come second in a Conservative county is really great,” she said.
However, she added that there were “lots of questions that still need to be asked” and promised to keep up her scrutiny of Marc in his role.
Ross Pepper – Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrat candidate Ross Pepper said the result was not “entirely unexpected”.
However, he said he was proud of the three Liberal Democrat councillors that had won seats in the local elections at Lincolnshire County and City of Lincoln Councils.
“I’m ready to work with them for a better Lincolnshire and a better Lincoln,” he said.
“In a Conservative heavy county we did a really good job of getting the Liberal Democrat message out there… and we continue pushing that message through local campaigning in the future.”
David Williams – Lincolnshire Independents
David Williams, the Lincolnshire Independents PCC candidate congratulated Marc Jones on his victory but said it is “not a surprising outcome”.
“I’m really pleased to have run for the post, because if I hadn’t have had a go to do a job that I really would have relished then I would have looked back and regretted not having taking the opportunity.”
Peter Escreet – Reform UK
Peter Escreet, the Reform UK candidate also said the result “was as expected” but actually he was “pleasantly surprised,” saying that this is “just the start”.
“The real campaign is in three years’ time” where Mr Escreet wants to grow a majority.
Conservative Marc Jones has been re-elected to the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner role.
He won from the first round of counting with 102,813 votes from a 31% turnout.
The PCC oversees the strategy and finances of the force, and also hires and fires chief constables, who are responsible for the daily policing operations.
Mr Jones will be in the position for three years.
The breakdown of the results is:
Marc Jones (Conservative) – 102,813
Rosanne Kirk (Labour) – 34,310
Ross Pepper (Liberal Democrats) – 10,172
David Williams (Lincolnshire Independent) – 18,375
Peter Escreet (Reform UK) – 6,101
Here’s the live result announcement, the reactions and acceptance speech:
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