Shock exit as top policeman takes the fast lane out of force

A DEPUTY chief constable who publicly criticised his own police authority after an investigation into how he spent £10,000 on “executive coaching” is abruptly to leave his force, it was announced last night.
By The Newsroom
Published 2nd Feb 2011, 09:21 BST

North Yorkshire Police Authority said Adam Briggs would retire at the end of the week only days after a war of words over what the authority described as an “apparent” breach of procurement rules after a probe into Mr Briggs’s agreement with a personal development trainer.

Mr Briggs said the public would question why “valuable time and resource” had been spent on the inquiry, which drew a sharp response from the authority defending its responsibility to ensure senior officers are held to account.

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His departure follows two other inquiries into Mr Briggs’s conduct last year, one of which upheld two counts of misconduct him over allegations he tried to unfairly help a relative during a recruitment exercise. He was cleared of four other counts.

In a jointly agreed statement, the authority said a request to retire after 31 years’ service had been accepted. Chairwoman Jane Kenyon said: “Adam Briggs has been a fine police officer during his 31 years’ service. His contribution has been respected and valued by the communities he has served in Cleveland, West and North Yorkshire”.

Mr Briggs said “I am fortunate to have enjoyed a great career with the police service and I wish to express my respect to the men and women whom I have so enjoyed serving with.”