Gwent Police has publicly confirmed the retirement of Chief Constable Carmel Napier after it was revealed last week she would be stepping down.
Labour MPs Wayne David and Chris Evans have claimed Mrs Napier standing down is a result of her “appalling relationship” with Police and Crime Commissioner Ian Johnston.
Mrs Napier has spent 30 years as a police officer and joined Gwent in September 2008 as the Deputy Chief Constable. She took over as chief in April 2011.
She said: “I have been immensely proud to serve the people of Gwent and believe, thanks to the efforts of my officers, staff and our partners, that the region is a much safer place to live, work and visit.
“In the last two years we have reduced crime by more than 25% – that’s 11,410 fewer victims. According to Home Office figures Gwent Police continues to have the highest reductions in crime in England and Wales.
“Our efforts to make our communities safer have led to reports of antisocial behaviour being halved; again, this means over the past two years 27,000 fewer victims of ASB, one of the issues which really affects the quality of people’s lives.”
Mrs Napier added: “Policing is going through some extremely challenging times and the impact of the austerity measures means we have had to change the way we work to deliver an effective service with less.
“But in Gwent we really have proved that you can do more with less – over the same period under my leadership we have made £25m recurring cashable savings out of a £130m budget and are currently exceeding our savings targets for this year and have clear plans to deliver savings up to March 2016.
“Again, this is testament to the efforts of the hugely talented people I have been fortunate to work in Gwent and who serve the people who live here. I am confident that going forward the force is in a strong position to continuing delivering quality policing.
Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner Ian Johnston, despite the claims of a rocky relationship, paid tribute to Mrs Napier.
He said: “After completing 30 years of distinguished public service the last two years of which she has served as Chief Constable in Gwent, Carmel has decided to retire. During this 30 years she has served in four separate forces in England and Wales and in 2012 her dedication to the Police service was recognised when she was awarded the Queens Police Medal.
“Since joining the chief officer team in Gwent in 2008 as Deputy Chief Constable, Carmel has worked tirelessly to deliver an effective and efficient police service to the people of Gwent.
“I would like to wish Carmel and her husband all the very best for the future.
“The current Deputy Chief Constable of Gwent, Jeff Farrar, will take over as Temporary Chief Constable with immediate effect. I am confident that he will provide strong leadership to the Force whilst a permanent replacement is sought. Jeff is a highly capable senior officer with a wealth of policing experience.”