West Midlands Police chief constable leaving after Commonwealth Games

The Chief Constable of West Midlands Police has announced he is stepping down from his post after this summer’s Commonwealth Games.

Sir David Thompson has been in the role since 2016, having previously been deputy chief constable of the force.

He said that, following the Games, which start on July 28, it will be a "good time for the force to have some new leadership".

The search for Sir David’s successor will officially begin next week, with the new incumbent heading the largest force in England outside the Metropolitan Police, policing nearly three million people.

Sir David’s exit has been planned so there will be continuity of command during the Games, with up to a million visitors expected for the sporting spectacle.

Speaking to the BBC, he explained how things have changed over the years.

"As policing has got smaller... the force has got nearly 2,000 less officers [than in 2010], the range of things police deal with has grown," he said.

"Ten years ago it was burglary, robbery, vehicle crime. It's [now] County Lines, it's modern slavery, domestic abuse has grown. So the stretch of what police do has got bigger during that time."

Sir David said that, after cuts to officer numbers over more than a decade, he is now “optimistic” about funding and recruitment.

He added that, although the force has 2,000 fewer officers than it did in 2010, it has signed up 900 new recruits and is “starting to see more capacity in the force”.

The region has continued to be afflicted by the scourge of youth knife and violent crime.

There have been several high-profile cases, including the murder of 15-year-old Keon Lincoln, who was shot and stabbed to death in Birmingham last year.

Sir David said his force has “done a lot of work to reduce knife crime” and is using tactics like hot-spot policing, adding “I do think we are having an impact” but also conceding there are “still too many high-profile cases”.

He referred to the Sarah Everard case as a “really cathartic moment for many of us”, placing crimes against women and girls at the centre of the policing agenda.

He also said policing in the pandemic has been “really tough”.

The senior officer has clocked up 12 years with the force, having joined from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in 2010.

While with GMP, which he joined in 1990, he rose through the ranks and commanded policing operations for the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002.

He is also the finance lead on the National Police Chiefs’ Council, and is one of its two vice-chairs.