Former Hucknall and Eastwood police officer says becoming Nottinghamshire chief constable is 'like coming home'

Kate Meynell became the new chief constable on December 12, after former incumbent Craig Guildford transferred to West Midlands Police in the same role.

She said: “It is an absolute honour to be back in Nottinghamshire, it feels like coming home.

“I have served the majority of my career with Nottinghamshire, lived most of my life in the county and I am looking forward to working with you all.

“It is important to acknowledge the progress the force has made in recent years – there’s been a reduction in serious violence, a reduction in acquisitive crime and a balanced budget.

“A lot of great work has been done by my predecessor and the organisation and I will continue to build on that.

“However, we cannot be complacent as there is more work to do.

"I am committed to building on the strong foundations in order to build my vision for the force to ‘deliver an outstanding service we can all be proud of’.

“It is paramount we secure the trust and confidence of the communities we serve and that communities feel safe and listened to.”

Ms Meynell originates from Nottingham and joined Nottinghamshire Police in 1993, where she was posted to Bulwell.

For the first few years she also worked across Hucknall and Eastwood in uniform roles before joining CID.

She then progressed through the ranks in both uniformed and detective roles.

In 2011 she was part of the new collaboration of the five forces of the East Midlands for major crime investigations.

In 2015, she became head of major crime with the East Midlands Special Operations Unit and was responsible for overseeing major crime investigations across the region.

She has performed the role of senior investigating officer on a number of homicide investigations, including a fatal house fire in Derby, where six children were killed, resulting in the conviction of both their parents and a family friend of their manslaughter.

She also investigated the murder of Kayleigh Haywood, who was killed after meeting a man who groomed her online, among other high-profile cases.

In 2017, she transferred to Northamptonshire Police, as chief superintendent, head of crime before returning to Nottinghamshire in 2018 as assistant chief constable.

She moved to Derbyshire Police as deputy chief constable in 2021, before returning to take the top job in Nottinghamshire this month.

Ms Meynell said: “I am already planning an extensive programme of meetings, both with colleagues internally across the force to build a sense of team and externally with partners and communities, and this programme will expand as I move through my first two months.

“This will help me identify some of the challenges we face and then look at the opportunities available to us.

“It is important I listen to the community and partners before I make any future plans for the force.

“I want the public to have complete confidence in the police when they call up to report a crime or problem in their community. It is also paramount that people feel safe where they live, work, and socialise.

“I look forward to delivering for the communities of Nottinghamshire.”