HAMPSHIRE Constabulary has a new Deputy Chief Constable.

Ben Snuggs started in the role on Friday September 3, replacing DCC Sara Glen, who is shortly retiring after thirty years of service.

A graduate of law and the FBI National Academy, DCC Snuggs has served the county since September 1996.

Speaking on his first day, he said: “I know how passionate the officers and staff I work alongside are about preventing crime and supporting victims. My job is to ensure we all have the right focus and harness that commitment to deliver the best possible service to the public. Hampshire's where my heart is, it's where my home is and why I'm really excited about being the Deputy Chief Constable and serving all of our communities.”

Chief constable Olivia Pinkney added: “The first of our 600 new officers are starting to hit the streets, public expectations are high, and the Police and Crime Commissioner is developing her new Police and Crime Plan. With policing becoming more complex, the role of deputy is even more crucial in ensuring we can continue to deliver the best service we can with the resources we have.

"Having a deputy who lives and breathes Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and is so victim focused, is the perfect match.”

DCC Snuggs is an experienced Chief Officer having served in an Assistant Chief Constable role since January 2017 overseeing Crime, Criminal Justice and Intelligence in Hampshire, and the Joint Operations Unit and Contact Management across Hampshire and Thames Valley.

More widely, DCC Snuggs chairs the national Forensic Information Database Services (FINDS) Strategy Board on behalf of the National Police Chief’s Council.

He is a member of the national cadre of chief officers who assume overall tactical command for resolving Counter Terrorism incidents, and in 2009 he undertook service in Afghanistan as a European Union Police Mission civilian police advisor to the Minister of the Interior.

Ben is married and has two daughters. He is also a keen runner and sea kayaker.