Barbara Rees Wilding, (born June 1950) is a British retired senior police officer. She served as Chief Constable of

South Wales Police South Wales Police (; SWP) is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. It is headquartered in Bridgend. The force was formed as South Wales Constabulary on 1 June 1969, by the amalgamation of the former Glamorgan Constabulary, Car ...

, the first woman to hold the post. Wilding began her career as a cadet in

Jersey Police Law enforcement in Jersey is carried out by 14 agencies, one paid island-wide police force, one paid customs and immigration enforcement service, and twelve parish Honorary Police forces, one for each parish. Island-wide law enforcement is mana ...

''Fair Cop: A Century of British Policewomen'', BBC, 2015 in 1967 and was appointed

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

in 1970. The following year she transferred to the Metropolitan Police where she served as an operational detective at

New Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

. Wilding was involved in the identification of victims from the sinking of the pleasure cruiser ''Marchioness'' on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

in 1989. She became an

Assistant Chief Constable Assistant chief constable (ACC) is the third highest rank in all British territorial police forces (except the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police, in which the equivalent rank is commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as C ...

Kent Constabulary Kent Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the and approximately 1.8 million inhabitants of Kent, a county in South East England. History On 14 January 1857, a 222-strong 'Kent County Constabulary' was formed under Ch ...

in 1994. In 1998, she returned to the Metropolitan Police as Deputy Assistant Commissioner, and served as Director of Strategic Resources and also Specialist Operations, where she commanded the Security and Protection Directorate which included protection of Ministers, Royal Family, Special Branch,

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

, covert intelligence and the specialist firearms unit. Wilding was appointed Chief Constable of South Wales Police on 1 January 2004. She was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 2006 Birthday Honours. She retired at the end of December 2009 as Britain's longest-serving female chief constable and was succeeded by

Peter Vaughan Peter Ewart Ohm (4 April 1923 – 6 December 2016), known professionally as Peter Vaughan, was an English actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on stage. Vaughan played Gr ...

. In 2011 she was appointed

High Sheriff of Mid Glamorgan The office of High Sheriff of Mid Glamorgan was established in 1974 as part of the creation of the county of Mid Glamorgan in Wales following the Local Government Act 1972, and, together with the High Sheriff of West Glamorgan and the High Sheriff ...

. Between 2015 and 2021, Wilding was the Chancellor of

Cardiff Metropolitan University Cardiff Metropolitan University () is a public university located in Cardiff, Wales. Formerly known as the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC; , ) which was established in 1996. The university offers degree courses in a variety of d ...

, prior to which she served as the Chair of the University's Board of Governors. Wilding is married and has two daughters, one of whom is an officer in South Wales Police. She read criminology at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

References

External links

South Wales Police webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilding, Barbara 1950 births Living people British women police officers Women Metropolitan Police officers British Chief Constables Metropolitan Police chief officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British recipients of the Queen's Police Medal High sheriffs of Glamorgan Alumni of the London School of Economics