Staffordshire Police Authority

New Deputy Chief Constable appointed for Staffordshire

Staffordshire Police Authority has today appointed a new Deputy Chief Constable.

Douglas Paxton, who is currently an Assistant Chief Constable with Staffordshire Police, will take up his role on a date to be agreed. 

Mr Paxton graduated with a degree in economics from Stirling University.

His police career began when he joined Suffolk Constabulary in 1989 and where he rose through the ranks to Superintendent. In that role he gained extensive experience of policing animal rights extremism due to the proximity of the Huntingdon Life Sciences centre in Suffolk.

In May 2002 he was appointed as BCU Commander of North Birmingham with West Midlands Police that consisted of three metropolitan sectors. In that role Mr Paxton held a city-wide strategic lead for youth issues and was lead for the force on the youth offending service chief officer group and chairing the Birmingham Children Fund Partnership.  

He became head of West Midlands professional services department in February 2005 with responsibilities in managing the investigations of complaints and discipline, and improving performance through increased professional standards.  

At the end of April 2007 he was appointed Assistant Chief Constable with Staffordshire Police (Territorial). During a two-year period he was responsible for the delivery of the Trust and Confidence Strategy, Justice Services and the communications departments. He was the lead officer on the national pilot to stream-line crime recording and delivering the Trust and Confidence strategy that included encouraging officers to use greater professional judgement and discretion in resolving minor crimes taking into account the wishes of the victim.

Mr Paxton, in his most recent role, has responsibility for the major crime and specialist operations departments.

Mr Paxton holds three Association of Chief Police Officers national portfolios covering performance, citizen focus and criminal justice business areas.  

Married, with one daughter and one son, Mr Paxton lives in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. He enjoys motorcycling and running.   

Speaking of his appointment, Mr Paxton said: “I am delighted to be appointed as the force’s Deputy Chief Constable – taking up the role at a time when there are significant developments to the force’s future make-up.

“As lead of the force’s Communities First Programme, I will work with the programme team and staff to meet the challenges of the new realities we face.

“We will need to be able to live within our means but our absolute focus will be on protecting operational service delivery. We will also be looking much more closely at new approaches to safeguarding our communities and making savings through greater regional collaboration and working with partners.

Chair of Staffordshire Police Authority, David Pearsall, said: “The Police Authority is delighted to appoint Mr Paxton as the new Deputy Chief Constable. He will continue to work in keeping Staffordshire as a leading force and promoting the trust and confidence strategy through the Communities First programme.”