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Warwickshire Police, whose headquarters is at Leek Wootton just north of Warwick, still has no permanent chief constable after the county’s police and crime commissioner stopped the recruitment on Tuesday 10 November. In a short statement, Commissioner Philip Seccombe said he had decided to bring the process to an end, and that Emma Bond MBE, whom he had named as his preferred candidate, no longer has that status.
No reason is given. The statement thanks Ms Bond for her time and commitment, wishes her well and says the confidentiality of the recruitment will be respected.
Who leads the force now
Acting Chief Constable David Gardner will carry on leading Warwickshire Police until he takes up his new post as chief constable of Staffordshire Police. The statement doesn’t say when that will be. The commissioner says he is making arrangements so the force’s leadership stays steady, and will announce the details once they are confirmed.
Mr Gardner has been acting chief since April 2026, the commissioner’s page on the role says, after the previous chief constable left policing for a private-sector job. He joined the force in 2001 and became deputy chief constable in February 2025.
The job
The chief constable runs the force day to day and answers to the commissioner for delivering his police and crime plan across the county. The post is based at police headquarters in Leek Wootton and pays £188,656 a year. Warwickshire is among the five smallest forces in England and Wales, the same page says.
What it means in Warwick
The statement doesn’t mention any change to local policing. In Warwick, the Warwick Central safer neighbourhood team’s published priorities since 1 October are residential burglary and anti-social behaviour in St Nicholas Park and the town centre. Our Warwick crime figures page has the latest monthly numbers, and our safety page has the rest of our police stories.
The decision was also reported by Warwick Nub News. We’ll update this story when the commissioner says who will lead the force next.
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