Police force's chief constable to retire

A police force's chief constable is to retire this summer having helped lift it out of special measures during his three years in the role.

Mark Webster became the seventh top officer in less than a decade at Cleveland when he was appointed in February 2022.

It had been placed in oversight arrangement by inspectors in 2019 as the first force in England or Wales to be rated as failing in all areas.

Mr Webster will leave at the end of July, with the watchdog finding the organisation had shown significant improvement by September 2023.

The force covers areas including Hartlepool, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton and Middlesbrough.

Cleveland's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Matt Storey said Mr Webster had completed his three-year contract and agreed a short-term extension while the process to find a successor is conducted.

He described Mr Webster as having taken up the chief constable's role "at an extremely challenging time in the force's history", adding he had helped "create the stability and structure needed" to see Cleveland become "one of the most improved forces in the country".

He was tasked with turning around the force's fortunes, with HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services warning it had been "putting the public at risk".

In September 2023, the watchdog said Cleveland had made "significant improvements in its approach to preventing crime and antisocial behaviour", meaning oversight arrangements could be brought to a close.

However, last month the PCC said he would conduct a "deep dive" after inspectors found serious failings in the force's child safeguarding efforts.

Mr Webster has worked in policing for 34 years and was deputy chief constable of Cumbria Police before moving to the North East.

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