New chief at the helm in South Wales

Mon 8th February 2010 3.37PM

PETER Vaughan has taken up his role as the new Chief Constable for South Wales Police. Mr Vaughan succeeds former Chief Constable Barbara Wilding following his selection by the Police Authority in July. The 47-year-old from Merthyr Tydfil started his career with South Wales Police in 1984. He left the Force briefly in 2003 to become Assistant Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police, before returning as Assistant Chief Constable in January 2007. He took up the post of Deputy Chief Constable for the force in April 2007. Mr Vaughan said: “I started with the force in 1984 as a Police Constable on the beat in the Rhondda.

Back then I was happy to serve my local community and being Chief Constable was the furthest thing in my mind. “I am absolutely thrilled and delighted to be leading South Wales Police into the new decade. It is an excellent organisation and I think we can are capable of achieving even more. “My commitment is to develop our work with the public and to raise the satisfaction and confidence people have in our Force. “Our future success will not simply depend upon us improving our crime performance. Just as important will be the way people feel they have been treated by us and how well they feel we understand and address the issues that are most important to them.

“I am immensely proud to lead a police force that I know can make a real difference to the communities it serves.” Mr Vaughan joined South Wales Police in September 1984 and served in each area of the force performing a variety of duties, including uniformed patrol, custody, firearms and roads policing. In December 2003 he was appointed to the post of sole ACC for Wiltshire Police, returning to South Wales as an ACC in January 2007. In April 2007, Mr Vaughan was promoted to the rank of Deputy Chief Constable at South Wales Police, before taking over as the new Chief Constable on 1st January 2010.