Chief Inspector Stuart Offord

Stuart Offord joined Norfolk Constabulary in 1982, His first posting was to Great Yarmouth. He subsequently worked in various parts of the Force area in both uniform operations and CID before joining the former Corporate Development Department where he was part of the Force inspection team.

Stuart Offord was promoted to Inspector in 1998 and for three years was the policing commander for Great Yarmouth before being appointed as head of Road Policing in the eastern part of the County in 2004.

In 2005 he was appointed as project manager for the implementation of Neighbourhood Policing in Norfolk which led to the roll out of the county’s 52 Neighbourhood Policing Teams.

Stuart Offord was subsequently promoted to Chief Inspector that year and was appointed as head of the Force’s Inspection and Review Team. Whilst in this role he led a number of internal assessments including a joint review with partners from the Norwich and Norfolk Racial Equality Council, Norfolk Independent Advisory group and Norfolk Police Authority into police stop and search practice in the county.

In May 2008 Stuart undertook a review of Norfolk’s road policing function which made a number of recommendations designed to improve service which were subsequently adopted.

In November that year Stuart Offord was appointed as Head of Operations in the Constabulary’s Royalty and VIP Protection team where he remains today. The unit’s aims are to co-ordinate and deliver security arrangements to members of the Royal Family and other protected persons whilst resident in, or visiting, Norfolk.

Stuart Offord is the Force’s lead on hostage negotiation and until his most recent appointment was also a firearms and public order commander.

He is studying for a post-graduate certificate in management at De Montfort University, Leicester, and has recently been appointed as a school governor. He also has the distinction of being one of the few police officers in Norfolk with a qualification in the Welsh language, the result of having been brought up on the Isle of Anglesey.