Martin Richards (police officer)

Martin Richards QPM
Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police
In office 2004–2008

Richards joined Warwickshire Police in 1982, where he was stationed across a range of geographical areas in numerous roles. His command positions included District Commander at Nuneaton, Head of Communications, Performance Review Manager, and a short period as Head of CID. He also served for two years in National Police Training as Head of Recruit Training Centre at Ryton-on-Dunsmore.

After obtaining his Criminology degree, Richards was promoted to Assistant Chief Constable at Avon and Somerset Constabulary in 1998. He was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in 2002.

Richards was appointed Chief Constable of the Wiltshire Police in September 2004. ^[4] While he was Chief Constable, he oversaw "Optimus", a 12-month programme of modernisation and reform within the Force, as well as a collaborative project involving all five forces within the South West region.

Richards was the Chair of the National Training Managers Group. When the minimum national qualification was introduced in January 2010 by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), he oversaw the national implementation of the Initial Police Learning and Development Programme (IPLDP), a compulsory diploma to be obtained by all new recruits. ^[5] Richards also represented Association of Chief Police Officers on the Police Dependants' Trust. Richards is now the Independent Chair of Chichester Diocese Safeguarding Panel. He is also a non-executive director with Sussex NHS partnership Mental Health.

Personal life

Richards has two sons from his first marriage, Charlie and Hugh, and two stepsons, Robert and Marcus.^{[ citation needed ]}

Honours

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Queen's Police Medal (QPM)
	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal	2002 UK version of this medal
	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	2012 UK version of this medal
	Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

Police appointments
Preceded by Elizabeth Neville	Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police 2004–2008	Succeeded by Brian Moore
Preceded by Joe Edwards	Chief Constable of Sussex Police 2008–2014	Succeeded by Giles York

References

1. BBC News (1 October 2007). "Police chief calls for 'humility'". BBC News. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
2. Warwick School. "Chief Constable returns to school". Old Warwickians. Warwick School. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
3. Sussex Police. "Who's who". Sussex Police. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
4. BBC News (26 July 2007). "Force names new chief constable". BBC News. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
5. "Initial Police Learning". NPIA – National Policing Improvement Agency. NPIA. 2011. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.