New Hampshire Police Chief Constable starts work
Scott Chilton is returning to the force he's spent most of his career at
Hampshire and Isle of Wight’s first ‘home grown’ chief constable has taken up his position with a commitment to provide exceptional local policing.
Scott Chilton, 49, returns to the force where he began his policing career as an 18-year-old and served nearly all of his career. With 31 years of experience, he worked his way through uniform policing and spent 16 years as a detective. He has undertaken a range of strategic roles leading policing commands, most recently as chief constable in Dorset and as the national lead for investigations.
CC Chilton said:
“Having strong relationships with our local communities is the bedrock of policing. We know that people want to feel connected with their local teams and to feel safe. I share that view.
“This means relentlessly pursuing those who commit crime and bring harm and misery to communities, providing first class investigations to ensure those responsible face the consequences of their actions, with kindness and compassion being at the heart of our response to victims.
“As well as being your Chief Constable, I am also a resident of Hampshire, with many of my family and friends living here too. So both personally and professionally, I have the same expectations as you and I am committed to making sure that Hampshire and the Isle of Wight is safe for everyone.”
During the Police and Crime Panel meeting that led to confirmation of Chief Constable Chilton’s appointment, he outlined his passion for local policing and officer visibility, ensuring that neighbourhood teams are connected with their communities and targeting community crimes.
Biography
Scott Chilton was appointed as Dorset Police Chief Constable in August 2021, having previously been the Deputy Chief Constable. Prior to this he was Assistant Chief Constable in Hampshire Constabulary for five years, where he was the strategic lead across all investigation teams, custody, the wider criminal justice department and the Intelligence Directorate.
He joined Hampshire in 1992, working his way through uniformed policing before joining the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in 1996, spending the next 16 years as a detective. Scott progressed to the rank of Chief Superintendent, overseeing many complex major crime investigations.
In 2008, Scott was seconded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to Afghanistan where he led the development of policing reform and counter corruption.
During his career he has been the Head of Special Branch as well as a Commander of crime and operations departments across both Hampshire and Thames Valley, responsible for firearms, operations and roads policing for five counties.
Scott is now the national lead, on behalf of all chief constables, for Investigations – which includes standards and accreditation, retention and recruitment of detectives, homicide and coronial investigations. He is also Chief Constable lead for Tactics, Training and Equipment in the public order and public safety environment.
Holding a master’s degree in applied criminology from the University of Cambridge, he is an advocate of evidence-based policing and has a strong ‘tough on crime’ approach to ensure policing focuses its efforts on protecting the most vulnerable and targeting those criminals who cause harm and misery to our communities.