Police chief steps down from his role

Med Hughes retired at the weekend after nine years at the force, seven as chief constable.

The 53-year-old crossed the border from Greater Manchester Police in September 2002 to join the force as deputy chief constable. He became chief constable on 1st September 2004.

He said that key moments of his time at the force included security for the G8 Summit in Sheffield in 2005, the floods which struck the county in 2007 and being at the forefront of ongoing work to make public additional documents about the Hillsborough tragedy.

An embarrassing moment for Ch Cons Hughes came last year when the Queen and Prince Phillip visited Sheffield. “The Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire had the welcoming party – including me - lined up, but the royal train stopped 20 yards up the platform so we all had a mad dash to get in place before Her Majesty stepped off.”

During his time in charge, he has also supported a number of charities, including being patron of Safe@Last.

Tracy Haycox, runaway services manager for the Dinnington-based charity said: “Med has been a supportive and active patron of Safe@Last for many years and we are sad that he is retiring from this role when he leaves South Yorkshire Police.”

“He has supported our work by speaking at conferences, taking part in fundraising events and by lending his skills and expertise to help us engage with other professionals.”

“Young people run away from home across the country and we are fortunate in South Yorkshire to have had a Chief Constable who has made their safety one of his priorities.”

Ch Const Hughes will continue this work as he has agreed to be a director of Weekend@Last, the company that fundraises on behalf of Safe@Last.

He shall also be taking up range of roles for both non-for-profit companies he has founded, which are dedicated to improving road safety in this country and abroad, and hopefully as a non-executive director in the public and private sectors,” he added.

Charles Perryman, chair of South Yorkshire Police Authority: “I want to congratulate Med for delivering substantial improvements in Force performance, improved public satisfaction, crime reduction and improved detection rates, despite the financial constraints in which we’ve had to work. He’s had a good relationship with the police authority. He’s been open and straightforward and has enabled us to develop strategies for the force in line with public expectations.”