New Chief Constable of Gwent Police Confirmed

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Gwent, Jeff Cuthbert, has officially announced the former Deputy Chief Constable of Gwent Police, Julian Williams, as the new Chief Constable of the service.

Gwent PCC Jeff Cuthbert made the announcement following a confirmation hearing for Julian Williams held by the Gwent Police and Crime Panel on Tuesday.

Julian Williams was put forward as Mr Cuthbert’s preferred candidate to the Panel following his success at interview stage on June 6th 2017. He has been the Acting Chief Constable of Gwent Police since the beginning of July following the retirement of Jeff Farrar. The confirmation hearing held today concluded the appointment process which was initially delayed as a result of the UK General Election and the approval of the new Gwent Police and Crime Panel membership by the Home Office.

Julian Williams is a highly skilled officer with 28 years’ experience in policing. He is the Welsh policing lead for Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking and is part of the National Counter Terrorism Cadre; having been a Firearms Commander for 15 years.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent, Jeff Cuthbert is responsible for appointing a Chief Constable which he holds to account on behalf of Gwent residents for the delivery of local policing.

Congratulating Julian Williams on his appointment today, Gwent PCC Jeff Cuthbert said: “I am delighted that the Panel have given me their seal of approval to appoint Julian Williams as the new Chief Constable and I thank them for their scrutiny. Gwent Police is in a well-placed position to meet both current and future demands on the service and I firmly believe that Julian has the characteristics, wealth of experience, talent and drive to be an effective Chief Officer who will ensure that we continue to improve. Following a robust interview process, the appointment panel for his interview unanimously agreed that he would be the right person for the role and the Police and Crime Panel have also shown their support for my decision today. I congratulate Julian on his appointment and I look forward to working with him to deliver the best service possible for the people of Gwent and to meet the priorities highlighted in my police and crime plan for the region.”

On his appointment, the Chief Constable of Gwent Police, Julian Williams, said: “I am delighted to have the Police and Crime Commissioner’s decision to appoint me as the Chief Constable fully endorsed by the Police and Crime Panel today. It is a real privilege to serve the public of Gwent and I feel proud to perform the role of Chief Constable within a force that has such a strong tradition and background of success.

There is a huge amount of tremendous work carried out daily by the officers and staff within Gwent Police and it is an honour to serve with them and to work with our partners both locally and nationally to tackle some of the challenges we face.

I look forward to working with the Police and Crime Commissioner to deliver against the priorities in his police and crime plan and ensure that we continue to deliver an efficient and effective service for all of our residents.”