Anthony Bangham

Chief Constable Anthony Bangham has strong connections with West Mercia, having grown up and lived within the force area his whole life, while also having the distinction of serving at every rank within the organisation prior to taking his current post in August 2016.

Anthony's local roots saw him attend school at St Ambrose's in Kidderminster and Sacred Heart College in Droitwich, moving to sixth form at Old Swinford Hospital School in Stourbridge before going on to complete a degree in Agricultural Business Management at Wye College, University of London.

In 1991 he joined West Mercia Police as a constable, stationed in Redditch, before working his way up the ranks across Bromsgrove, Worcester and Droitwich to become Chief Inspector of Community Policing in Herefordshire. 

Anthony then was appointed as Superintendent of Operations in Hereford, where he stayed until March 2005, including several long periods as the acting area commander. This led to various roles, including working nationally with the Association of Chief Police Officers on the police use of firearms. He played a leading role in co-ordinating the roll-out of the use of Taser in the UK.

He was promoted to Chief Superintendent in 2007 and became Head of Professional Standards before taking his next step to head up the force's Operations Department. He also enjoyed a spell as Temporary Assistant Chief Constable for West Mercia.

In 2010 Anthony moved to pastures new, joining Avon and Somerset Constabulary as an Assistant Chief Constable. While there, he further developed his extensive experience of leading operational policing as the police commander for the Glastonbury festival and as the commander for the largest public order operation in the South West, when the English Defence League (EDL) marched through Bristol city centre.

Latterly, he oversaw the local policing portfolio and he describes one of his greatest achievements as reintroducing cadets to Avon and Somerset Police - establishing eight schemes with more than 200 cadets across their force area.

Anthony returned to his 'home patch' of West Mercia in 2014, when he was appointed Deputy Chief Constable. He lives in Herefordshire with his wife and two children where he enjoys making the most of the beautiful countryside as a keen runner. 

He's also putting his agricultural degree and interest in rural issues to good use, not only for the rural communities of Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire but also across the rest of the country, having been appointed as the national policing lead for Animal Diseases.

In addition, Anthony is also the NPCC lead for Roads Policing, a busy portfolio with 8 chief officers supporting him and leading on such matters as police pursuits, motorcycles, pedal cycles, police vehicle fleet, operations and intelligence.

Anthony is also very proud to be a Local Ambassador for the Prince's Trust and has also recently joined the West Mercia branch of the International Police Association, promoting relationships with other police forces across the world.