HERTFORDSHIRE’S top cop, chief constable Frank Whiteley, announced today (Monday) he will retire from the force next year.

Mr Whiteley has been with Herts police since October 2004 and has more than 32 years service with the police, working first in Cambridgeshire and then Northamptonshire before succeeding Paul Acres as chief constable for the county.

Mr Whiteley said: “This has been a difficult decision to make but I feel that the timing is now right, for me personally, and for the Authority and policing as a whole.

“We will shortly have plans in place to provide effective policing over the next four years and it is right that a new Chief Constable is able to see these through successfully.”

Hertfordshire Police Authority will be starting the recruitment process for a new chief constable in the “near future”.

The exact date of Mr Whiteley’s retirement has not yet been agreed but it is expected to be by the beginning May next year.