Lancashire appoints two new assistant chief constables
Lancashire Police Authority has announced the appointment of two new Assistant Chief Constables.
Lancashire Police Authority has announced the appointment of two new Assistant Chief Constables.
Chris Weigh (pictured left), who is currently a Divisional Commander at Lancashire Constabulary said it had been a dream come true.
His is promoted along with Andy Cooke, who joins the force from Merseyside Police where he was formerly Area Commander for Liverpool South.
The appointments take the total number of ACCs on the Chief Officer team from two to three. The Authority approved the Constabularys request for the additional post at its meeting in December with the aim of increasing Chief Officer capacity in order to further improve force resilience.
Congratulating both the successful candidates on their appointment, Cllr Malcolm Doherty, chair of the Police Authority said that the appointments would help the Constabulary achieve its ambition to Consistently be the best police force in the Country and one where the needs of the public are the highest priority.
“These appointments will undoubtedly strengthen the chief officer team, making Lancashire an even safer place to live, work or visit.” he said. “It is vital that we have the leadership in place to meet the ever-increasing policing challenges and I am delighted that we have been able to appoint two highly skilled officers of this calibre. I look forward to working with them both.”
Talking after the announcement Chris Weigh said: “This is a dream come true for me. Its been my ambition for a long time to contribute to policing in Lancashire at this level and Im looking forward to the challenges ahead. Having served in Lancashire for my entire career I know the county and the people well and its a pleasure to work with them.”
Andy Cooke said: “Im absolutely delighted to have been appointed Assistant Chief Constable in Lancashire, where I will be joining the force considered to be the best in England and Wales. I fully intend to ensure that Lancashire communities continue to receive the highest standard of policing.”
Chief Constable, Steve Finnigan, said: “I am delighted to be welcoming Chris Weigh and Andy Cooke to the Chief Officer team of Lancashire Constabulary, after what was a very challenging and intensive interview and assessment process conducted by members of Lancashire Police Authority.
“We already know that Chris has an impressive track record as a Lancashire officer and that his knowledge of the force and the county as a whole will be of great benefit in his role as ACC Operations. Andy will be joining us from Merseyside Police in the crucial role of ACC (Specialist Ops) and will bring with him a wealth of experience that will certainly bolster and take forward our priority around protecting people, in particular. I am delighted with both appointments and look forward to both Chris and Andy helping us to retain our position as the top performing force in the country.
“Now that the recruitment to our Chief Officer team is complete, ACC Wendy Walker will also be able to take up her new role leading the Constabularys people portfolio, comprising learning & development, HR, leadership and diversity, which means that we will also be able to focus on the further development of our staff, in order that we become better equipped to offer top quality services to the people of Lancashire, in a truly citizen focussed way.”
Mr Weigh has 24 years policing service all with Lancashire, although he had a brief spell in which he worked for the Association of Chief Police Officers in London.
He spent most of his early years in uniform working in Southern Division, Headquarters, and the major crime unit where he led the Family Protection Unit as a Detective Chief Inspector.
In 2001 he was promoted to Superintendent as Operations Manager in