Dorset Police appoints a new Chief Officer for the Special Constabulary
Ryan Howell has been appointed Chief Officer after a selection and recruitment process overseen by Assistant Chief Constable Steve Lyne.
Ryan started his policing career in 2005 when he joined Gloucestershire Constabulary as a special constable. He then joined West Midlands Police as a crime scene investigator (CSI) in 2009 where he began his career in police forensics.
Ryan worked in Birmingham city centre as a CSI while continuing to commute to Gloucestershire to perform his duties as a special constable.
After quickly demonstrating his competency for independent patrol status, he was later promoted to section officer. Ryan led policing operations across the county and later moved to be one of the very first specialist special constables in the roads policing unit, where he was based until he left in 2019.
In 2015, he moved to Essex Police after being promoted to senior CSI based in Harlow, later taking on the position of acting principal CSI for both Kent and Essex Police.
In January 2020, after a short secondment as a subject matter expert to the Transforming Forensics project, Ryan joined Dorset Police as a regional forensic coordinator. He has strategic responsibility for the CSI teams in Force and is the Force's strategic link with Southwest Forensics. He holds a number of regional portfolios, including organised rural crime forensics and will soon take the lead on police fire investigation for the region. He also chairs the Southwest Forensics Regional Reward and Recognition Group.
Ryan lives with his partner and son in the west of the county.
Assistant Chief Constable Steve Lyne said: "Ryan brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and leadership from across different roles within policing, much of which is directly transferable to his role as Chief Officer of the Special Constabulary. I'm looking forward to working closely with him."
Ryan said: "I'm overjoyed and honoured to be appointed as the new Chief Officer for Dorset's special constabulary. The phrase, 'the police are the public and the public are the police' couldn't be truer than it is for the Special Constabulary.
“Our special constables are normal people, like you and I and they go above and beyond every day. I'm excited to shape the future of the Special Constabulary in Dorset and really demonstrate the value our special constables can and do give to our communities. We'll be opening recruitment soon and I'm really keen for individuals who have skills and experiences that they can bring to policing to watch out for our recruitment engagement events."
Dorset Special Constabulary currently has over 120 Officers across the County. Special constables are volunteer police officers who have the same powers as regular officers and make time in their busy schedules to police their communities for free. Dorset Police will be opening recruitment for special constables in the coming weeks. You can find out more and register your interest on the link below.
You can follow Ryan's updates on Twitter @DP_RyanHowell and read more about the role of Special Constable athttps://recruitment-dcp-dp.org/dorset-police-volunteers/special-constables/
Ryan started his policing career in 2005 when he joined Gloucestershire Constabulary as a special constable. He then joined West Midlands Police as a crime scene investigator (CSI) in 2009 where he began his career in police forensics.
Ryan worked in Birmingham city centre as a CSI while continuing to commute to Gloucestershire to perform his duties as a special constable.
After quickly demonstrating his competency for independent patrol status, he was later promoted to section officer. Ryan led policing operations across the county and later moved to be one of the very first specialist special constables in the roads policing unit, where he was based until he left in 2019.
In 2015, he moved to Essex Police after being promoted to senior CSI based in Harlow, later taking on the position of acting principal CSI for both Kent and Essex Police.
In January 2020, after a short secondment as a subject matter expert to the Transforming Forensics project, Ryan joined Dorset Police as a regional forensic coordinator. He has strategic responsibility for the CSI teams in Force and is the Force's strategic link with Southwest Forensics. He holds a number of regional portfolios, including organised rural crime forensics and will soon take the lead on police fire investigation for the region. He also chairs the Southwest Forensics Regional Reward and Recognition Group.
Ryan lives with his partner and son in the west of the county.
Assistant Chief Constable Steve Lyne said: "Ryan brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and leadership from across different roles within policing, much of which is directly transferable to his role as Chief Officer of the Special Constabulary. I'm looking forward to working closely with him."
Ryan said: "I'm overjoyed and honoured to be appointed as the new Chief Officer for Dorset's special constabulary. The phrase, 'the police are the public and the public are the police' couldn't be truer than it is for the Special Constabulary.
“Our special constables are normal people, like you and I and they go above and beyond every day. I'm excited to shape the future of the Special Constabulary in Dorset and really demonstrate the value our special constables can and do give to our communities. We'll be opening recruitment soon and I'm really keen for individuals who have skills and experiences that they can bring to policing to watch out for our recruitment engagement events."
Dorset Special Constabulary currently has over 120 Officers across the County. Special constables are volunteer police officers who have the same powers as regular officers and make time in their busy schedules to police their communities for free. Dorset Police will be opening recruitment for special constables in the coming weeks. You can find out more and register your interest on the link below.
You can follow Ryan's updates on Twitter @DP_RyanHowell and read more about the role of Special Constable athttps://recruitment-dcp-dp.org/dorset-police-volunteers/special-constables/
Image gallery:
select image to download
Witness Appeal
Did you see anything? If you have any information to share, please get in touch
Get in touch