Dorset's new chief constable was the only candidate for the £165k-a-year job

The county’s police and crime panel was told that the situation was not uncommon and had been the case for Dorset in the past.

READ MORE: GP shortage leaves Dorset health services under 'EXTREME pressure'

Panel members were told that with a possible recruitment ‘pool’ of only around 50 other forces with senior officers to draw from and Dorset being a smaller force in national terms the number of candidates was always going to be low.

Chief Constable, Scott Chilton, was the only candidate for the £165,000 a year job

Chief officer for the police and crime commissioner’s office, Simon Bullock, told the meeting that with salaries linked to population there was often little, or no, financial incentive to make a career move, coupled with the disruption of uprooting from one part of the county to another, and then, without yet another move, little opportunity for career progression beyond that.

READ MORE: Court date for Portland man who allegedly stole alcohol, tomatoes and a cucumber from Tesco

He said that the phenomena of one candidate for one chief constable job was common throughout the country and was being investigated to see if ways could be found to improve the level of competition for posts.

Police and crime commissioner David Sidwick said that despite only having one choice he was convinced Mr Chilton, the former Deputy Chief Constable for the past year, was the right person for the job and had been rigorously tested during the process.

“He is a confident and compassionate man, with ‘grip’, who has the ability to get things done,” he said, claiming that had he not met all the criteria he would have advertised the vacancy again.

Mr Chilton takes over the role from James Vaughan who became Chief Constable in April 2018 and retired in May this year.

Mr Chilton, who was born into a policing family in Yorkshire, joined Hampshire Police in 1992 and spent most of his career with them in a variety of roles including Assistant Chief Constable. His other duties include being seconded by the Foreign Office to Afghanistan in 2008  for a couple of years to help tackle corruption and improve local policing; heading up the Hampshire’s major crimes unit and working in officer training.

As a ‘gold commander’ while also working with the Thames Valley Force, he oversaw security operations at Windsor Castle for the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations.