New Deputy Chief Constables have home advantage

Merseyside Police and North Wales Police have both appointed new Deputy Chief Constables in recent weeks.

Merseyside has appointed Andy Cooke as its new Deputy Chief Constable. He joined Merseyside Police in 1985 having obtained an Honours Degree in Politics at Nottingham University and he has served at every rank as a detective. DCC Cooke, who is Liverpool born and bred, was the first head of the specialist Matrix team, which has worked hard to tackle gun and gang crime in the Merseyside area since 2005.

Talking about the new appointment Chief Constable Jon Murphy said, “Andy is a highly skilled and experienced senior police officer. His knowledge of the county and the force will be invaluable and I know that all the staff of Merseyside Police will be really pleased with the appointment.”

North Wales

Gareth Pritchard has been appointed the new Deputy Chief Constable of North Wales Police. Mr Pritchard has been acting DCC since the retirement of Ian Shannon earlier this year.

Chief Constable Mark Polin said, “This is a key appointment and Gareth will bring many qualities to the role and offer continuity in the chief officer team, having served in a variety of positions over many years in different parts of the force area. It is also good to see someone born and bred in North Wales, and whose first language is Welsh, achieve such a prominent position in the area.”

Gareth Pritchard said, “It is a privilege to be selected as Deputy Chief Constable in my home force. I know the new role will be challenging, but with the continued support of my colleagues and working closely with the Commissioner, I believe we can further develop the work of the force to make North Wales safer.”

Gareth is the National lead for Dangerous Dogs and holds the Dangerous Dogs Portfolio for Police in England and Wales. As part of this portfolio he liaises with both DEFRA and the Welsh Government seeking to improve public protection in this field. Gareth is also ACPO lead for Search and Rescue nationally.