By Thomas Sinclair

POLICE and Crime Commissioner, Dafydd Llywelyn has appointed Chief Constable of Cleveland Police, Richard Lewis as the new Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys Police.

Following a robust and transparent recruitment process involving key stakeholders, PCC Dafydd Llywelyn’s decision will now be considered by the Police and Crime Panel in a confirmation hearing to be held on 30 July.

Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn said; “I am delighted to be able to announce Richard Lewis as my preferred candidate for the appointment of Chief Constable for Dyfed-Powys.

“When I set out on this process, it was important that I recruited a Chief Officer who could bring the vision, determination and resilience required to lead the Constabulary. Richard performed very well throughout the whole assessment process and demonstrated great leadership skills. His 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.”

Richard Lewis is currently the Chief Constable of Cleveland Police.

Originally from Carmarthenshire, his career in the police service started in 2000 as a police constable in Dyfed Powys. Richard has worked in a variety of roles in uniform and CID during his 18 years in Dyfed Powys Police. He served in every rank up to (and including) Deputy Chief Constable at Dyfed Powys Police, working in all four counties in the Dyfed Powys area. Richard has also been the Head of the Professional Standards Department and chaired the Wales Counter Corruption Working Group.

In 2010, Richard 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.

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

Richard 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 staff at Cleveland are amongst the best I have worked with nationally and I thank them for their continued hard work and the support they have shown for me since my arrival in early 2019.

“The opportunity to return home and lead my home force is one that I could not afford to miss. I promise to give my all in my remaining months at Cleveland and to the communities of Dyfed-Powys for the remainder of my service.

“My thanks go to PCC Steve Turner of Cleveland who has been immensely supportive and to PCC Dafydd Llywelyn for the faith he has placed in me.”