North Wales Police welcomes its new Chief Constable, Amanda Blakeman

North Wales Police has welcomed its new Chief Constable, Amanda Blakeman.

As part of her first day in the role, the Chief Constable visited the control room in St Asaph on Monday, where she saw the heartbeat of the force in action.

On Tuesday, she visited officers in Wrexham City to discuss demand and crime prevention in the area, before meeting the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, Nicole Jacobs in Wrexham, with North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin, where she heard about the inspiring work ongoing in the area.

 

 

After spending some time at Colwyn Bay Headquarters on Wednesday, she then travelled to meet policing teams in Caernarfon, Bangor, Llandudno on Thursday, before ending her first week in Dolgellau.

Reflecting on her first week in the post, CC Blakeman said: “I am honoured and delighted not only to have started my new role as Chief Constable of North Wales Police, but to be the first female to serve the people of North Wales.

“This week, I have had a chance to meet many of the dedicated and hardworking officers and staff of North Wales Police, who I very much look forward to leading for the next five years.”

Andy Dunbobbin, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales commented: "I am delighted to welcome Amanda Blakeman as she starts her new role as Chief Constable of North Wales.

“I look forward to working with her and the other senior officers of the Force to deliver on the priorities in my Police and Crime Plan, with a focus on increasing visibility and improving performance.

“North Wales is an area that we are all proud to call home and I am sure that the new Chief Constable and I will work together in a positive and constructive way to make it an even safer and more secure place for residents and visitors alike.”

 

 

CC Blakeman began her career with West Mercia Police in 1992 and has since held various posts.

She spent the first 11 years of her service gaining an invaluable amount of experience and knowledge across a variety of roles as a police constable.

In 2003 she was promoted to sergeant and, since then, across a number of ranks, has led teams in delivering critical services to communities.

She has held the responsibility for intelligence and proactive functions and has been a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) as part of the Force Serious and Organised Crime Unit.

In 2008, seconded to the West Midlands Regional Intelligence Unit, she led the development of the critical processes around identifying and disrupting Organised Crime Groups.

In addition, she has led the delivery of policing operations on a local level as a Local Policing Area Commander.

 

 

She has also held the roles of Head of Public Protection and Head of Operational Support for West Mercia Police and Warwickshire Police. She has been a Tactical Firearms Commander and a Specialist Strategic Firearms Commander.

Amanda also has a bachelor’s degree in Science with Honours in Crime and Criminology.

She was appointed as Deputy Chief Constable for West Mercia Police in February 2017 having previously been Assistant Chief Constable for Local Policing, since October 2014, for Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police.

She was appointed Deputy Chief Constable of Gwent in 2019.