THE newly appointed deputy chief constable of a troubled police force has said his new role on a veterinary disciplinary panel will not impact on his work to the turn around its fortunes.

Ian Arundale wants to reassure residents that his Cleveland Police role will remain his key priority and believes he and the force will benefit from the additional experience.

Chief Constable Richard Lewis persuaded his former boss to come out of retirement and take up the deputy’s role last month.

The move came as the force was branded ‘inadequate’ by in every area inspected by police watchdog the HMICFRS but Mr Arundale said his new appointment will not deflect away from his priority of helping to transform the force.

Mr Arundale said: “Cleveland Police is my absolute priority and I’m committed, on a full-time basis, to the Force. My role with the RCVS will have no impact on my determination to play my part in delivering outstanding policing services to the people of Hartlepool, Stockton, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland.

“On the contrary, my work here – leading on issues of professional standards and conduct - is enhanced by the national training and awareness of national regulatory processes and legislation that my, albeit minimal, role with the RCVS affords me.”

Mr Arundale has been appointed following an application process from within existing disciplinary committee members, with the final interview panel consisting of former RCVS president, Amanda Boag, Ian Green and Miran Uddin, an independent barrister who works in regulatory law.

Last month’s report highlighted how vulnerable victims, including children, are being put at risk by the force's poor processes, response time figures had been 'fiddled' by downgrading the urgency of crimes, and the force was poor at catching criminals, investigating crimes, and preventing crime.

The watchdog was highly critical of the lack of measures to tackle corruption in the force and said some senior officers were misleading the Chief Constable with incorrect information – and even gave HMIC inspectors themselves wrong information as they were being assessed. The force is now in the equivalent of special measures.