THE police and crime commissioner for Hampshire, Simon Hayes, has selected Andy Marsh as his preferred candidate to be the next chief constable.

Mr Marsh, currently the deputy chief constable, was selected after a two-day interview process.
The commissioner will now go before a confirmation hearing this Friday in the Council Chamber at The Castle in Winchester.

Mr Hayes said: “There were four strong candidates, but throughout the whole process, Andy Marsh demonstrated to me that he is the right man to lead the force, that he shares my vision for the future and has the ability to inspire officers and staff to deliver my priorities and to make Hampshire and the Isle of Wight an even safer place.”

Mr Marsh joined Hampshire police as DCC in July 2010. He started his career with Avon and Somerset Police before transferring to Wiltshire as an assistant chief constable in 2007. He returned to his former force in 2009 before moving to Hampshire.

The Commissioner’s appointment panel consisted of Khalid Aziz, chairman of the Naomi House hospice; Julian Gibbons, president of the Hampshire National Farmers’ Union; Andrew Lloyd, chief executive of Rushmoor Borough Council; Hallam Mills, High Sheriff of Hampshire; Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers and former chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and Liz Mackenzie, an independent member, appointed to ensure it was a fair, open and merit-based process.