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Police appoint new Deputy Chief
3:44pm Thursday 4th September 2008
Comments (3)Francis Habgood has been appointed Deputy Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police.
He succeeds Alex Marshall who has been selected as the new Chief Constable of Hampshire Constabulary.
Mr Habgood, 43, joined Thames Valley Police in January 2004 on promotion to Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Specialist Operations and recently moved to the role of ACC Local Policing.
He previously served with West Yorkshire Police, which he joined in 1987; he was heavily involved with community safety and led on West Yorkshire's response to the Macpherson report. Before he moved to Thames Valley he was the Basic Command Unit Commander in North West Leeds.
Mr Habgood has taken the lead in Thames Valley on numerous high profile operations. These include Operation Haul, which saw an organised criminal network jailed for 49 years for the burglary of country houses, theft of valuable metals and theft of ATMs containing thousands of pounds worth of cash.
He has also been the Thames Valley lead in many of the most recent high-profile terrorist incidents involving the Force.
Mr Habgood is married to Nicolette, who works for the Open University. They have two sons, Elliott and Sebastian. Following his appointment, Mr Habgood said: "I am very honoured to have been appointed Deputy Chief Constable and delighted to be carrying on serving the community of Thames Valley in my new role.
"I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead and will work hard with colleagues to ensure that we continue to make it a safer place and that we provide a quality service."
Chief Constable Sara Thornton added: "Francis has served in Thames Valley for more than four years in a number of demanding roles with an impressive record. I am delighted that the Police Authority has selected him as my Deputy and look forward to working more closely with him."
Your Say YourHerald Series
Not again, Didcot says...
12:33pm Fri 5 Sep 08
Are we not allowed to criticise the police even if they are doing a poor job ?
Ridiculous !
bobby, oxford says...
3:28pm Fri 5 Sep 08
M P wrote:So when you are getting beaten up and the nearest police officer is 3 miles away and on foot don't come moaning that they didn't get to you quick enough.
So is this the gentleman who we can sue for 'dereliction of duty' when, no doubt, our Police Officers once again let us all down? When, exactly, are the Police going to get back on the streets?
Maybe it is unfair to lambast the Police themselves, the problems seem to originate from this bankrupt Government, however how anyone can remain in their 'job' when they are so blatantly useless is beyond me! No doubt, next time there is a major crime in the Oxon area, we will hear the familiar '...lessons will be learnt'. But no one will actually see a copper on the beat.
The police have to be in cars because there are so few on duty at any one time and they can't be everywhere at once.
How many police do you think there actually are anyway?
You're right you will hardly ever see "a copper on the beat" because it's 2008 not 1958 and the government won't pay for more police in order to make you happy and take us back 50 years in time.
You have no idea!!
Francis Habgood
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M P, Letcombe Regis, Oxon says...
7:31pm Thu 4 Sep 08
Maybe it is unfair to lambast the Police themselves, the problems seem to originate from this bankrupt Government, however how anyone can remain in their 'job' when they are so blatantly useless is beyond me! No doubt, next time there is a major crime in the Oxon area, we will hear the familiar '...lessons will be learnt'. But no one will actually see a copper on the beat.