The man poised to become Lincolnshire Police’s next chief constable says he is “honoured” to be selected.
Bill Skelly, who is currently deputy chief constable with Devon and Cornwall Police, has been named as the preferred candidate for Lincolnshire’s new police chief.
The decision was made by Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones after an exhaustive interview process. The recommendation will now go to the Police and Crime Panel on December 19 for consideration and confirmation.
Mr Skelly said: “I am honoured to have been chosen for the task of serving the Lincolnshire community. It is a beautiful county and I have been impressed by the many passionate and dedicated people I have met so far.
“The county presents many policing challenges but I am confident that my new force colleagues and the community can work together to ensure Lincolnshire continues to have the excellent police service it deserves.”
Mr Skelly joined Devon and Cornwall Police as deputy chief constable in December 2013 and has been a serving police officer for 26 years. He joined from Police Scotland, where he was working on the safety and security of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Born in Scotland, Mr Skelly joined Lothian and Borders Police in 1990 and completed the command course at Bramshill in 2004.
He has been involved in many different areas of policing in his career. In 2005, he was seconded to New Scotland Yard to lead the Immigration Crime Team in the covert policing branch of the Metropolitan Police, targeting criminals involved in the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation.
In 2008, Mr Skelly took up the post of Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC) for Scotland. Married with two daughters, he has a keen interest in personal fitness and enjoys hill walking, cycling and volleyball.
Five candidates were interviewed by a panel of five people made up of Mr Jones, two other Police and Crime Commissioners, a local council chief executive and an independent senior executive from the College of Policing.
Mr Jones said: “The search for candidates and the interview process has been exhaustive and I can assure our policing team and local communities that Mr Skelly would make an excellent new chief constable. I am delighted he has agreed to take on the challenge.
“I also want to thank a very strong set of candidates who impressed us with their commitment, knowledge and ideas. It was a tough decision but now we look forward to welcoming Mr Skelly to the county to continue the excellent work done by Neil Rhodes and his team.”
If confirmed, the new chief constable will start the job when Mr Rhodes retires at the end of January.
