ESSEX Police Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh has announced that he will retire from policing this September after over 33 years’ service and more than five years as Chief Constable in Essex.

Making the announcement in his weekly blog to the force, Mr Kavanagh wrote:

“Leading this force has been the joy of my professional life. Together we have navigated the most difficult financial period policing has ever known. Today, I see an organisation with a sense of ambition for the future, one that is stretched but determined to do its best and one that has some remarkable people doing brave and difficult jobs.

“To carry on our work means planning not just for the next year or two but for the next five or ten. I have been determined that my leadership of our force would never shirk the decisions that need to be made. We have done that together and so now is the right time to make a stable transition to the leadership that will take us into the next decade.”

“We are fortunate to enjoy a great relationship with an Essex public which supports our police, with some outstanding partners who understand our world and with a Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner in Roger Hirst who has with me fought and won arguments nationally to get more resource on our front line and to whom I’m extremely grateful for his support for what our force is trying to achieve.”

Mr Kavanagh’s retirement date has yet to be finalised. He has no current plans for the future and will spend time with his family before exploring other career options.