Cumbria’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (Commissioner), David Allen, congratulated Chief Constable, Rob Carden, after being named as the preferred candidate for Merseyside’s new Chief Constable. The announcement was made on Tuesday 29 April 2025 by Merseyside’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Emily Spurrell.
Speaking on the announcement, Commissioner David Allen, said: “I want to congratulate Rob Carden on him being named preferred candidate as Chief Constable for Merseyside Police.
“Whilst I have known Rob for just under a year, I have been incredibly impressed with his drive, enthusiasm and ambition for Cumbria Constabulary. Without a doubt, Rob has turned the force’s performance around and we are now consistently one of the top performing forces in the country. This includes an exceptionally good HMICFRS peel inspection in July 2024, with one Outstanding grade, six Good and two Adequate grades with only a few areas identified for improvement.
“Every Chief Constable should be an outstanding operational police officer and Rob absolutely emulates this. He has successfully overseen as Chief Constable, a number of competing public safety events, such as: Appleby Horse Fair, Dave’s Day and the Great North Swim. These all occurred on the same day last year and the Constabulary met that challenge exceptionally well.
“Rob Carden has been a phenomenal Chief Constable here in Cumbria. To be recommended as Chief Constable of the Force that he started his career in, in which his father also served is a great achievement and will bring huge pride to his family.
“The process regarding Rob’s recruitment into Merseyside is ongoing and will run alongside a recruitment process for his replacement in Cumbria in due course.”
Commenting on the announcement, Chief Constable Rob Carden said: “I am sincerely grateful to have had the privilege of being a member of Cumbria Constabulary over the last three years and to have led it as Chief Constable for the last two years.
“I am very proud of what we have achieved together and the national reputation we have built as an outstanding force.
“Cumbria Constabulary is a family, which is full of amazing public servants dedicated to keeping our communities across Cumbria safe.
“If my move to Merseyside is confirmed later this year, I am confident that Cumbria Constabulary will continue to be an outstanding service, serving communities across Cumbria.
“I will do all I can to support the force in the coming months ahead whilst I am still Chief Constable.”