A NEW assistant chief constable has joined Cleveland Police after moving north from the Nottinghamshire force.

Simon Nickless, who was formerly a Chief Superintendent after moving through the ranks at the midlands force, has replaced Dave Pickard who retired in April.

And ACC Nickless, who will become the force’s only ACC in October when Sean White retires, has promised to listen to the needs of the people in the area.

He said: I have been really impressed with the commitment of the officers who I have already met. All forces face the same kinds of problems and we have to work together to resolve them.

“We need to listen to what the public wants us to do and do our best to deliver it. As a force we also need to make sure that we communicate with as many people as possible in as many ways as possible – whether it is through social media or the traditional media.”

His policing career began in 1992 in Nottinghamshire where initially he performed a number of uniform roles, getting to know the local communities.

In 2000 he was successful in applying for the Accelerated Promotion scheme, which provided the opportunity to learn more about policing nationally and in 2000 he took up his first command as Neighbourhood Inspector.

By 2007, he took on the role of operations superintendent in Nottingham City before becoming the deputy commander with responsibilities including preventing violent extremism.

These roles provided the experience to become a Divisional Commander and in 2009, he was promoted to Chief Superintendent of Mansfield and Ashfield Division, prior to becoming Divisional Commander of Nottingham City in 2011.