Gwent Police has appointed a new Assistant Chief Constable.
Lorraine Bottomley, who is currently Chief Superintendent at West Midlands Police, will take over the role from Paul Symes who has been Temporary Assistant Chief Constable since March.
Ms Bottomley said: “I am absolutely delighted and honoured to be joining Gwent Police and look forward to taking up this challenging role. Whilst having very fond memories of my time at West Midlands I’ll be joining a very strong chief officer team and look forward to contributing to the continued strong performance of the force.
“Gwent Police has a good reputation and I very much look forward to working alongside my new colleagues, the Police and Crime Commissioner, partner organisations and residents to make Gwent an even safer place.”
Carmel Napier, Chief Constable of Gwent Police, said: “The process of appointing an Assistant Chief Constable has been very competitive, involving a number of highly qualified and very strong candidates.
“I’m delighted to announce that Lorraine has emerged as the successful candidate. I congratulate her on her success and look forward to working with her when she takes up this vitally important role.
“She will bring with her skills and experience she has developed in her impressive career with West Midlands Police where she has worked in several different areas of policing.
“Lorraine will help ensure that we continue to perform well and provide the residents of Gwent with the best possible policing service over the coming years.”
Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner Ian Johnston said: “I congratulate Lorraine on her appointment and welcome her to Gwent. Following a demanding recruitment process she emerged as the outstanding candidate in a very strong field.
“I’m very much looking forward to working with her to further improve our service to the public and make a real a contribution to their quality of life.”
The exact date of when Ms Bottomley will take up her post has yet to be announced.
The new Assistant Chief Constable’s police career
Ms Bottomley joined West Midlands Police in 1986 having previously been a teacher in Birmingham.
She is currently Head of Policing for Birmingham North which includes the areas of Sutton Coldfield, Erdington, Kingstanding and Castle Vale.
During her time at West Midlands Police she has undertaken a number of roles including Collaborative Lead for West Midlands and Staffordshire Police, Head Of Professional Standards and Anti Corruption, Head of Policing for Kings Heath inner city Birmingham, Operations Superintendent Coventry (Football Commander), Firearms Commander, Public Order Commander involved in many critical incidents within West Midlands police, Full time Senior Investigating Officer in CID.
She has also worked as part of the Neighbourhood Policing Team and on the Public Protection team in relation to Child Safety