Assistant Chief Constable Nikki Leaper

Nikki joined Devon and Cornwall Police in 2003, having previously worked in international customer service. During her policing career she has held a number of roles in uniform, intelligence, business and operations. In 2008 she spent 16 months of her career at the Home Office on secondment.

In 2014, Nikki was invited to be part of the Strategic Alliance between Devon and Cornwall and Dorset Police and took on the role of Programme Delivery Manager in charge of implementation. Three years later she moved to Head of Alliance Specialist Operations and then moved to South Devon as the Policing Commander for the area. This included responding to incidents, investigation and neighbourhood policing, working alongside partners to address key threats to the community and individuals, and contributing to the prevention of crime and disorder.

Nikki received a National Special Recognition award from the British Association for Women in Policing in 2017, in recognition of her work with mentoring and coaching others.

In 2019, Nikki successfully passed the National Chief Officer selection process, attending the Strategic Command Course in 2020 and joining the Chief Officer team in 2021.

For the last few years Nikki has been the Assistant Chief Constable responsible for Contact and Strategic Planning. The Contact Resolution Command encompasses the force control rooms and front enquiry offices.

In June 2025 Nikki’s portfolio broadened to include Specialist Operations. This includes specialist uniform operations, public order, dogs, drones, roads policing, firearms, firearms licensing, operations planning and resourcing, as Assistant Chief Constable for Contact and Specialist Operations.

Nikki is a Strategic Firearms Commander, Public Order Public Safety Commander and a Major Incident Commander. She also holds a Masters in Applied Criminology from Cambridge University, which focused on evidence-based policing.