New Chief Constable Appointed
Wednesday, 17th September 2008
The new Chief Constable of Central Scotland Police is to be Kevin Smith, who is currently serving as Assistant Chief Constable in Strathclyde.
He was appointed by Central Scotland Joint Police Board on Tuesday September 16 2008.
Councillor George Matchett, the convener of Central Scotland Joint Police Board, said: "Along with my fellow councillors, I am looking forward to working with the newly appointed Chief Constable and ensuring that the communities across Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire council areas continue to receive as responsive a policing service as possible.
"I am sure Kevin Smith will drive the force even further forward in terms of performance and community engagement to ensure that this area remains a safe place in which to live, work or visit.
Mr Smith, who will start in his new post later this year said: "I am delighted to have been appointed Chief Constable of Central Scotland Police. I have no doubt there will be many challenges ahead and I am looking forward to working with communities and the officers and staff who are the driving force of the organisation.
"Central Scotland Police is a strongly performing police force and my priority is to build upon the success of recent times and deliver responsive, robust and effective policing to the communities of Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire."
In his current role with Strathclyde Police as Assistant Chief Constable (Territorial Policing), Mr Smith has overall responsibility for all operational policing, including community policing, throughout the force area.
Mr Smith joined Strathclyde as a finance clerk in 1976, before being appointed as a constable in September 1977 when he was posted to 'G' Division, serving from Orkney Street, Govan.
He served in beat and plain-clothes duties until 1983 when he was appointed as a detective constable at Govan. He was promoted to sergeant in 1985 and transferred to Shettleston, in the east end of Glasgow. In 1986 he returned to CID duties as detective sergeant at Govan, where he remained until 1988 when he transferred to the Serious Crime Squad.
During that time he was involved in many major enquiries and served a three-month secondment to the Pan Am 103 Investigation at Lockerbie. Promotion to detective inspector came in 1990 and he transferred to Special Branch.
In 1993 he was promoted to chief inspector and transferred to Pollok Sub-Division. After three years at Pollok, he returned briefly as detective chief inspector in Special Branch before being promoted to superintendent in 1997 and posted to East Kilbride/Strathaven Sub-Division.
In early 1998, he was selected as the first officer to undertake the Strathclyde Police/Victoria Police Exchange. He transferred to Melbourne, Australia, for three months where he undertook duties as a divisional commander in an inner city area of Melbourne and, thereafter, he spent six weeks at the State Crime Squads of Victoria.
On returning from Australia, Mr Smith was transferred to the Spotlight Initiative, which was then the force's approach to tackling violence, crime, disorder and anti social behaviour. In 2000 he transferred to Complaints & Discipline to form the new Force Professional Standards Unit and he developed the Force Integrity Strategy that underpinned the work of that Unit.
In 2001 he was promoted to chief superintendent and appointed divisional commander of 'E' Division, covering the East End of Glasgow. During his time there, he was the match commander at Celtic Park and this included many high profile Champions League/UEFA Cup matches against some the top European teams.
Mr Smith has BA in Police Studies, a Post Graduate Diploma in Management Studies and is a graduate of the Police Strategic Command Course.
