Chief Constable James Vaughan

James Vaughan was encouraged to try out for the police by his uncle who was a sergeant in Bristol. He joined Wiltshire Police in 1992 and took to it like a duck to water, instantly loving the role. He worked in various uniform and detective roles before moving up through the ranks to work in major, serious and organised crime, citizen-focused policing, partnerships and safer neighbourhoods, before becoming the Head of CID.

In 2012 James joined Dorset Police as Assistant Chief Constable and the following year was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable where he led on strategic change, planning, performance, professional standards, people and community focus, and media and communication. He also led various regional collaboration programmes, including the forensic service collaboration and the Strategic Alliance with Devon & Cornwall Police.

In February 2017 he was appointed Deputy Chief Constable (Chief Operating Officer) for the Dorset, Devon and Cornwall Strategic Alliance, before his appointment as Chief Constable for Dorset in April 2018. In 2018 he was awarded QPM in the New Years honours list.

James holds a master’s degree in criminology and police management and has published research on his academic interests in child homicide. Since his retirement from Dorset Police, he has led a wide portfolio of public appointments and public service roles including, Children’s Safeguarding partnership Board, Home Office offensive weapon homicide review oversight board, Chair of his local secondary school board of governors, has taught evidence-based policing with Cambridge university in India and has delivered Executive coaching. 

James is married to Sacha and has five children. He enjoys natural history, music, sports and keeping fit. He is an experienced Chief Constable who has held numerous senior posts in policing. He has a proven track record of performance development and will lead the force to drive improvements during this challenging period.