Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Vicki Townsend

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Vicki Townsend joined Gwent Police in 2007 as a PC in the Abergavenny area of Monmouthshire, shortly after completing her Bachelor's degree in Law and Politics at Swansea University.

Vicki completed her detective accreditation in 2009 and saw her first promotion to Police Sergeant in 2011. She then went on to become a Detective Sergeant in 2012 specialising in serious and complex crime.  

During this time, Vicki was recognised as an officer with exceptional skills and talent, and was successful in the High Potential Development Scheme in 2010; completing the 5 year qualification in January 2016.

Vicki continued on her promotion journey and in 2017 became a Temporary Superintendent in the Force Control Room, completing her Tactical and Strategic Firearms Commander Courses. Vicki was also the head of Digital Services Division in 2020, the East LPA of the force in 2022, and Continuous Improvement in 2023. 

Vicki is also the force Gold Commander for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear incidents. 

Vicki has a strong passion for policing. She is focused on delivering an exceptional service to the public. Vicki is always seeking to develop innovative ways of policing and was part of the team responsible for the introduction of crucial policing teams such as the Cyber Crime and Online Investigation Team.  

Vicki commenced her role as Temporary Assistant Chief Constable in September 2024 and is responsible for Operational policing.