WEST MERCIA police have voted Paul Deneen back in as chair of the West Mercia Police Authority and he has two deputies for the first time.
Margaret Winckler, who sits as a councillor for Shropshire County Council was elected as vice chairman (local) and Alan Thompson, who currently chairs the Association of Police Authorities' (APA) finance committee, was appointed vice chairman, with responsibilities for the APA. Chief executive David Brierley, speaking on behalf of Mr Deneen who has held the role of chairman since June 2005, said: "Paul's appointment as chairman for a third year is clearly a mark of the high regard in which he is held by the police authority and reflects the enormous contribution he has made to the organisation. The decision to appoint two vice chairmen is a reflection of the increased workload with which the authority now deals."
Other agenda items at the annual meeting included a discussion of the force's new uniforms, the forthcoming 40th anniversary celebrations for the force and a review of the achievements of the last 12 months.
The authority also observed a minute's silence in honour of colleagues PC Ricky Gray and PC Keith Harris of West Mercia Constabulary who died last month and PC Jon Henry, who was fatally stabbed in Luton, Bedfordshire on Monday, June 11.
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