South Yorkshire's temporary Chief Constable named as former chief boss moves to new force

Temp Chf Con Poultney was only appointed as South Yorkshire’s Deputy Chief Constable in April and now finds herself in the top job.

She initially replaced Mark Roberts as Deputy Chief Constable following his appointment as Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary but she is now filling in as South Yorkshire’s Chief Constable following Stephen Watson’s appointment as the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police.

Temp Chf Con Poultney has worked in policing for 23 years, both in uniformed and detective roles, working in a number of areas including neighbourhood policing, major crime and protecting vulnerable people.

When she was appointed as the county’s Deputy Chief Constable, Mr Watson said: “South Yorkshire Police is to experience a period of change within its leadership team as both the Deputy Chief Constable and I depart for challenges elsewhere but I’m absolutely confident that Lauren has the skillset and drive to continue our journey to become an outstanding police force and ensure South Yorkshire Police is recognised as the excellent force I believe it to be.”

The married mum-of-one joined South Yorkshire Police four years ago and is an accredited firearms and public order strategic commander for the force.

Since 2017, Temp Chf Con Poultney has been leading on a national problem solving and demand reduction programme.

Applications have been invited for the full time Chief Constable role.

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