THAMES Valley’s new Chief Constable Jason Hogg vowed to take the force back to the future in his opening gambit to the panel that approved his appointment.
The region’s current Deputy Chief Constable, who has held that position since 2019, is set to step up to the top job when current incumbent John Campbell retires at the end of March 2023.
The Thames Valley Police & Crime Panel, the body of councillors from across the region who hold Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) Matthew Barber to account, had to ratify or reject the appointment at a confirmation hearing which essentially acted as the final interview for the PCC’s selection.
Deputy Chief Constable Hogg detailed his “humble beginnings” on a council estate being raised by a single mum, citing “inspirational teachers who believed in me” helping him to gain a place at Oxford University.
During his time as a student, he met with police officers while doing voluntary work in Oxford, inspiring him to apply to join Cleveland Police upon the completion of his studies.
He became a detective within his six-year stint there and later joined Hampshire Constabulary where he served prior to Thames Valley, a force whose work stood out to him during his early career.
“Thames Valley has a good force but I think we can be much better,” said Deputy Chief Constable Hogg.
“When I joined the police 27 years ago, Thames Valley was very much at the forefront of innovation and setting the national agenda around policing.
“From my conversations with Matthew, I am very keen to put Thames Valley very much at the forefront of some of the challenges policing faces.
“Having worked in a number of police forces, I can tell you that all forces are not equal in terms of their background, their people and their culture. There is something quite special about Thames Valley Police and its people.
“We are blessed with a hardworking, committed, caring and professional workforce, we don’t always get it right but our recent inspector’s report talked about us having an inclusive and ethical workforce, we are good at understanding our problems and managing performance.
“Hopefully that gives us a really strong basis to meet future challenges, faced with a time when budgets are going to be difficult for all of us, not only for all police forces but all public sector bodies.”
He also highlighted his background in specialist crime and that he is “one of the few chief officers nationally to have served as a detective at every rank with backgrounds in serious and organised crime, homicide and counter terrorism”.
The panel went into a behind-closed-doors session to make the final decision with the appointment confirmed shortly afterwards.
