Meredydd John Hughes is a retired British police officer. He served as
Chief Constable of
South Yorkshire Police
South Yorkshire Police (SYP) is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England.
The force is led by Chief Constable Lauren Poultney. Oversight is conducted by Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings.
T ...
from 1 September 2004
to 2011.
Hughes started his career at
South Wales Constabulary
South Wales Police ( cy, Heddlu De Cymru) is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. It is headquartered in Bridgend.
The force was formed as South Wales Constabulary on 1 June 1969, by the amalgamation of the former Glamorgan Const ...
in 1979, and was transferred to
West Yorkshire Police
West Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the fourth largest territorial police force in England and Wales by number of officers.
History
West Yor ...
in 1995 to a position of
Superintendent
Superintendent may refer to:
*Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank
*Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator
*Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...
. He was promoted in 1999 to the rank of
Assistant Chief Constable of
Greater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England.
, Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...
. In 2002 he moved to
South Yorkshire Police
South Yorkshire Police (SYP) is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England.
The force is led by Chief Constable Lauren Poultney. Oversight is conducted by Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings.
T ...
to take over the position of
Deputy Chief Constable, before becoming the force's
Chief Constable in 2004.
He was awarded the
Queen's Police Medal
The King's Police Medal (KPM) is awarded to police in the United Kingdom for gallantry or distinguished service. It was also formerly awarded within the wider British Empire, including Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, most of whic ...
in the
2006 New Year Honours.
During his career Hughes held a number of operational responsibilities, including work as a
firearms officer, IT Project manager, and
Silver Commander of games held at
Leeds United F.C.
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
As a senior manager, he was responsible for Operational Support, Uniform Operations, Press & PR, Professional Standards and Information Systems during various stages of his career.
As a member of
ACPO
The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) was a not-for-profit private limited company that for many years led the development of policing practices in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Established ...
, he was the Chair of Roads Policing Enforcement Technology Committee and Vice Chair of the National Operations Forum and Chair of the Drivers Project (placing new databases such as drivers and motor insurance records on
PNC), until resigning the post in December 2007.
As Assistant Chief Constable in Greater Manchester, Hughes commanded the planning and delivery of the
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...
policing operation. Whilst Chief Constable in South Yorkshire, the Force was rated by the
HMIC
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), formerly Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the police forces of England and Wales, and since ...
as one of the four most improved forces in the country. He led the response to the South Yorkshire flooding of 2007, and dealt with a number of major events and incidents, retaining his status as a Gold Public Order and Firearms Commander.
Hughes was a member of the
Association of Chief Police Officers
The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) was a not-for-profit private limited company that for many years led the development of policing practices in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Established ...
, serving as ACPO's Head of Roads Policing and then as Head of the Uniformed Operations Business Area. His responsibilities included the oversight of all ACPO's firearms issues, public order, roads policing, specialist operations and emergency planning. He retired having worked on part of the police planning for the
2012 Olympic Games
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
and also oversaw changes to the service following
Stockwell
Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell.
History
The na ...
and the
2009 G-20 London summit protests.
In 2005 he led the ACPO team co-ordinating the England and Wales resources for the
G8 Summit at Gleneagles, and played a role in the national response to the
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings, often referred to as 7/7, were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamic terrorists in London that targeted commuters travelling on the city's public transport system during the mo ...
. In 2010 he coordinated the policing of the
Papal visit
Papal travel outside Rome has been historically rare, and voluntary travel of the pope was non-existent for the first 500 years. Pope John Paul II (1978–2005) undertook more pastoral trips than all his predecessors combined. Pope Francis (2013â ...
.
He retired from the police service in October 2011, and is a Company Director and Consultant. The
Institute of Directors
The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and incor ...
(IoD) named him as "Chartered Director of the Year 2011" in September 2011
Hughes was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(CBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours.
Traffic controversy
Hughes received press attention through being prosecuted for exceeding the speed limit in
North Wales
, area_land_km2 = 6,172
, postal_code_type = Postcode
, postal_code = LL, CH, SY
, image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg
, map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
in May 2007. He received a 42-day driving ban and fine for the offence, imposed by Wrexham Magistrates Court on 5 December 2007. At the time of the offence he was Chair of the Roads Policing Enforcement Technology Committee for
ACPO
The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) was a not-for-profit private limited company that for many years led the development of policing practices in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Established ...
, resigning this position at the time of the court summons. He had also argued for less conspicuous
Speed Cameras
A traffic enforcement camera (also red light camera, speed camera, road safety camera, road rule camera, photo radar, photo enforcement, Gatso, safety camera, bus lane camera, flash for cash, Safe-T-Cam, No contact apprehension camera dependin ...
. In 2006 Hughes was fined £500 by Rotherham Magistrates Court for failing to identify the driver of a South Yorkshire Police vehicle, as a result of him mounting a prosecution against himself.
Politics
In 2012, he revealed his intentions to stand as a
Labour Party candidate for the
South Yorkshire Police
South Yorkshire Police (SYP) is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England.
The force is led by Chief Constable Lauren Poultney. Oversight is conducted by Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings.
T ...
Police and Crime Commissioner, despite previously stating the creation of the position was a mistake. The nomination was contested between Hughes, Anglican Priest Alan Billings and
Shaun Wright
Shaun Wright (born January 1968) is a British politician. He was the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner from 2012 to 2014. He was the first person to hold the post, to which he was elected as a Labour Party candidate on 15 November 2 ...
, a
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
and local
councillor
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
. Shaun Wright won the nomination
and was subsequently elected as the PCC.
Jay Report
In August 2014 Jay Report was published and outlined the widespread sexual abuse (and associated criminality) of young white girls in Rotherham by Britons of predominantly Pakistani origin. The report highlighted that the police did not respond appropriately to reports of abuse by concerned parents and guardians of the victims. Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police when the majority of criminality occurred - 2004-11 - was Meredydd Hughes.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Meredydd
British Chief Constables
People from South Yorkshire
Welsh recipients of the Queen's Police Medal
Living people
People from Cardiff
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Labour Party (UK) politicians
Year of birth missing (living people)