Police chief’s job remains vacant after candidates are rejected

Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell has run North Yorkshire Police without a permanent understudy since the retirement of Adam Briggs, who left in February after being censured for misconduct for his part in a nepotism scandal.

Four senior officers were interviewed for the role last week but North Yorkshire Police Authority decided against appointing any of them at the end of a two-day process.

The authority’s management board will discuss how to resolve the recruitment problem on Friday at an urgent meeting, to be held behind closed doors.

The situation is also being monitored by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Police Senior Appointments Panel, which vets applicants for chief officer roles.

The authority, which declined to comment, has refused to confirm the identity of the four unsuccessful candidates but the Yorkshire Post understands they include the force’s two current assistant chief constables, Sue Cross and Tim Madgwick, who have shared the deputy role temporarily since Mr Briggs’s departure.

The other two candidates are understood to be Michael Banks and Sean White, assistant chief constables serving in Durham and Cleveland respectively.

Police forces must have a chief constable and deputy by law, but there is no limit to how long the deputy position can be filled in an acting or temporary capacity.

North Yorkshire Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said it was “disappointed” by the authority’s decision.

A spokesman for the force said it had improved during the last six months, and had recorded the lowest crime level in England despite “considerable challenges and change due to the cut in police funding”.