Chief Constable Martin Richards
Chief Constable Martin Richards
After
graduating from Bristol University Martin joined Warwickshire
Police in 1982, and served across all geographical areas in the
force. His command positions included District Commander at
Nuneaton, Head of Communications, Performance Review Manager and a
short period as Head of CID. He served for two years in National
Police Training as Head of Recruit Training Centre at
Ryton-on-Dunsmore.
He achieved a Masters in Criminology at Cambridge University before being promoted to Assistant Chief Constable at Avon and Somerset Constabulary in 1998 where his key responsibilities were Personnel and Training, Criminal Justice and Communications. He was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in 2002, taking on responsibility for Professional Standards, Corporate Development, Communications and Information Services.
Martin was appointed Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police in September 2004. During his time in this post he oversaw 'Optimus' a 12 month programme of modernisation and reform within the force. He was also the Chief Officer lead on collaboration for all five forces within the South West region.
Martin was appointed Chief Constable of Sussex Police in October 2007 and was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in HM The Queen's Birthday Honours in 2008.
He is the Chair of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) South East Region, the regional lead for Serious and Organised Crime and represents ACPO on the Police Dependants' Trust. Martin is married to Judith and has two sons and two stepsons.