NEWS UPDATE – Chief ‘comes home’ to take charge of policing in Cwm Taf

NEWS UPDATE

Chief ‘comes home’ to take charge of policing in Cwm Taf

A police officer who began his career in the South Wales Valleys 28 years ago, has returned as the region’s most senior police officer.

Dorian Lloyd has become the Divisional Commander for South Wales Police’s Northern Division and has taken charge of policing across Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil.

It is familiar territory for Dorian who was posted to the Rhondda when he joined South Wales Police back in 1991, aged just 20.

It was where he began his policing career as a response officer before becoming the Penrhys Community Constable 18 months later. Dorian described it as defining and unforgettable period in his career which he remembers with great fondness.

Dorian’s first visit to the Rhondda was with his father Jim, who was also a police officer, retiring in 1995 as the Divisional Commander of Neath & Port Talbot.

Dorian said:

“I remember the night before my first day at work, my father drove me to the top of the Bwlch Mountain for a view over the Rhondda Valley. It was a sight that filled me with equal measures of excitement and trepidation, but very soon the area became a place of deep importance and significance to me”.

He continued to spend almost a decade serving the Rhondda valley, initially as a uniformed officer, and then after three years he joined CID department which covered Rhonddda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil.

In 2000, Dorian was promoted to sergeant and moved to Cardiff. He rose to the rank of  Detective Inspector in the capital, and was promoted again in 2009 to the rank of Detective Chief Inspector in the force’s Major Crime Investigation Team. In this role, he faced what he describes as one of the biggest challenges in his career – it was Dorian who led the investigation into the Gleision Mine Disaster in 2011.

He said:

“I’ll never forget staring into the mouth of the mine knowing that 4 men were trapped inside. The following days were some of the most challenging in my career and discovering that the men had lost their lives was utterly heart-breaking.”

Dorian devoted the next three years investigating the cause of that disaster and was determined to provide answers and support to the families and communities of those involved.

He was promoted to Detective Superintendent and put in charge of the Force Intelligence and Organised Crime Unit, before returning to Cwm Taf – South Wales Police’s Northern Basic Command Unit – between 2014 and 2015, as deputy Divisional Commander. From there he became Head of South Wales Police’s Professional Standards Department and Anti-Corruption Unit where he remained for four years.

On Monday the 11^th of March, 2019, Dorian became the Commander of Northern Division.

He said:

“I am hugely honoured and humbled by this fantastic opportunity, to return at the helm of where my policing career started and where I have spent some of my happiest years, serving the communities of Cwm Taf.

“Although I’m not originally from the area, I have spent over a third of my policing career and the majority of my time as a front line officer, here, and I truly feel that I have come home.

“I have always enjoyed a real connection with the local communities and have been incredibly touched by the warmth, kindness and support of the people.

“I look forward to working alongside my colleagues and also the many partner agencies and third sector organisations across the region to address the issues that are affecting people locally. I will be doing all I can to make a real difference and I know I have a great team who will help me do that.”