Ready to learn and improve, says Warwickshire’s new top police officer
THE temporary chief constable of Warwickshire Police has written an open letter to the people of the county promising to learn from mistakes and listen to suggestions about how the force can improve.
Alex Franklin-Smith stepped into the top job following the retirement of Debbie Tedds, Warwickshire’s first female chief constable who had been in the job since 2021.
In his letter, Mr Franklin-Smith said: “Trust and confidence in policing is an absolute priority for me.
“Policing in the United Kingdom operates with the consent of the public, and when we damage the trust and confidence that the public have in us, the work of my officers and staff becomes much harder.
“We know we don’t always get it right, but we will work hard to learn from mistakes when they are made and we will be relentless in our pursuit to continually improve what we do and how we do it.
“Over the coming days and weeks, I will be out and about across the county. I will be listening to what my officers and staff have to say, but equally importantly I will be listening to what you have to say about how we can improve the service we provide on your behalf.”
He added: “Our vision is very clear – protecting people from harm. In Warwickshire, we care passionately about victims of crime, and together with our many partners, we will continue to work hard to bring more offenders to justice.
“Community policing is at the very core of our policing model, with our many Safer Neighbourhood Teams working closely with all communities in an effort to respond to their needs and keep them safe.”
Mr Franklin-Smith also said Warwickshire Police had also welcomed 20 new student officers to the force.
He also added: “The police and crime commissioner Philip Seccombe will run a recruitment process to appoint a permanent new lead, but as the interim chief constable my focus is on ensuring the force continues to deliver its commitments to the people of Warwickshire.
“As the previous deputy chief constable and having worked in uniform and detective roles across most areas of the organisation, I am confident that our plans for the future remain strong, as do our aims to deliver the very best possible policing services for the public.”
