The force has appointed a Met officer as its new Deputy Chief Constable.

Currently a Commander for the Met, Alex Murray, will move over to West Mercia to take up the position of Deputy Chief Constable this September. 

He is currently the violence lead in the Met but has spent the majority of his career in the West Midlands. 

The current DCC, Julian Moss, will be retiring after completing his 30 years of police service. 

Mr Murray said: “I have met many staff in West Mercia and they are absolutely committed to tackling crime, protecting people and improving the service delivered to victims.

“There is a huge ambition to continually improve and it will be a privilege to work with the team and the Chief Constable, Pippa Mills.”

Chief Constable Pippa Mills said: “I’m incredibly pleased to welcome Alex to West Mercia Police and look forward to working with him as my deputy when he transfers to the force in September. He’ll join a great chief officer team, working together to lead the force in delivering a quality policing service.”

Last month, West Mercia was warned by the HM Inspectorate that they need to improve performance after PEEL assessments revealed challenges in major service areas. 

It was rated ‘good’ in one area, ‘adequate’ in four areas and ‘requires improvement’ in three areas.