APRIL 2019
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Police And Trading Standards Smoke Out Suspected Smuggled Cigarettes
I will always love policing and it has been an honour to serve our communities, most recently as Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police. I believe that West Yorkshire Police is an excellent force and I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to lead the dedicated officers, staff and volunteers who work for us and the support I have generously been given by the public and the Police and Crime Commissioner.
Wakefield District Police and West Yorkshire Trading Standards are continuing to investigate after seizing up to 30,000 suspected illegal cigarettes in the Castleford area. Officers from Wakefield District Police Licensing and West Yorkshire Trading Standards carried out operations at four separate premises in Castleford recently.
Between them, the agencies seized an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 cigarettes from three off licences and a vehicle linked to one of the premises. Nothing was found in the fourth premises searched. The teams also searched two premises in Wakefield and discovered a quantity of concealed illicit tobacco in one of them and a smaller quantity at another. Sergeant Mark Thorold of the Wakefield Police Licensing Team, said: “Police licensing officers and colleagues from Trading Standards executed a number of searches in the District yesterday resulting in us seizing what is clearly a very significant quantity of suspected illegal cigarettes. “The organisations who make these illegal cigarettes available for sale can often be linked to organised crime and this is a far from a victimless crime. He added: “I want to thank neighbourhood policing colleagues for their excellent support during these operations, which also benefitted hugely from the deployment of the passive tobacco dog. “We will now be conducting a full criminal investigation regarding the significant seizures made from three off licences in Castleford and will be continuing work under the licensing act.”
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Command Course, I have decided that it is the right time for both me and the Force that I retire.
Tens of thousands of suspected illegal cigarettes have been seized by Police and Trading Standards in the Wakefield District.
The teams used a passive drugs dog jointly funded by West Yorkshire Trading Standards and Wakefield Council in the searches.
LOCAL
WEST YORKSHIRE POLICE CHIEF CONSTABLE, DEE COLLINS RETIRES West Yorkshire Police Chief Constable, Dee Collins, has announced she will retire at the end of this month. She joined West Yorkshire Police in January 2014 as the Deputy Chief Constable having served over six years as Assistant Chief Constable in Derbyshire Constabulary. She was appointed Temporary Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police in June 2014 and then substantively promoted in November 2016. Her announcement reads"In July I would have completed 32 years’ service in policing, 12 years of those as a chief officer in Derbyshire Constabulary and West Yorkshire Police. Following my recent secondment to the College of Policing where I have had the privilege to successfully lead the national Strategic
I recognise that my announcement means that I will be leaving shortly, however, I am stepping down for personal reasons to face some new health challenges that I would prefer to manage in private rather than as Chief Constable in full public view. For this reason, I will be stepping down from the service at the end of April, leaving a very capable and talented team to continue to lead the Force. I have very mixed emotions about retiring as I have loved my job, loved serving our communities and loved working with so many fantastic people. I have tried to encourage an understanding of the very human aspects of policing, with a culture that truly cares about our communities, given the very real challenges that all of the public sector are facing at the moment." Mark Burns-Williamson, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for West Yorkshire, said, “I would firstly like to personally thank Dee for her continued dedication and hard work in often very challenging times. Her leadership through a sustained period of austerity has ensured a strong position for her successor and for the people of West Yorkshire. “Dee has overseen some of the biggest events in the country and the most complicated investigations, often receiving international attention. Her contribution to policing in West Yorkshire has been exemplary, not to mention her impact on the wider service. In particular, her dedication to championing opportunities for women and leaders, which is testament to her character and will be part of her ongoing legacy. I completely understand Dee’s reasons for retiring and wish her all the very best for the future. “I am confident in the very capable chief officer team, which we currently have in place and look forward to building on Dee’s success with the exciting opportunity to recruit the next Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police.”