New chief constable for Mid Wales announced

Chief Constable Lewis started his career as a Pc in Dyfed Powys in 2000 and was the force's deputy chief constable.

His appointment will now be considered by the Police and Crime Panel, in a confirmation hearing to be held on July 30.

Mr Llywelyn said: “Richard Lewis's vast experience and understanding of policing as well as his knowledge of the Dyfed-Powys area puts him in a good place to support the priorities in my Police and Crime Plan.

“As a visionary Chief Constable, Richard will build on the excellent work undertaken by his predecessor, Mark Collins who retired earlier this year, to continuously improve the quality of our service, protecting our communities and meeting public expectations.

“He has a fantastic track record of fighting crime and managing community policing and I very much look forward to working with him to keep our communities safe and to develop a Force that serves for today and is fit for the future.”

Originally from Carmarthenshire, Chief Constable Lewis's career in the police service started in 2000. During his 18 years in Dyfed Powys Police he served in every rank up to Deputy Chief Constable working in all four counties in the force. He has also been the head of the professional standards department and chaired the Wales Counter Corruption Working Group.

In 2010, he gained a Fulbright Scholarship, a prestigious educational programme, at Pennsylvania State University where he studied Taser deployments leading to adverse incidents. The work was conducted in policing agencies as diverse as Dallas, Seattle and New York police departments. The majority of his time in the United States was spent working with the Emergency Service Unit of NYPD, based in Brooklyn.

He is the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for ethics and chairs the National Ethics Committee and has recently completed his PhD with Bath University.

Chief Constable Lewis said: “I am honoured to have been selected as PCC Dafydd Llywelyn’s preferred candidate for the position of Chief Constable at Dyfed-Powys

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Cleveland Police. It is an area that reminds me of home and the welcome I have received here has been overwhelming.

“The opportunity to return home and lead my home force is one that I could not afford to miss. "