Why is a chief constable retiring for one month?

After one year in post, the Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire Police is expected to retire and be rehired a month later. Why is he doing this and what are the rules?

Last year Simon Megicks took up the position in the force in which he started his career.

He joined Cambridgeshire Police in 1996, where he worked his way up to superintendent in Cambridge before taking various senior roles in Hertfordshire and Norfolk.

He replaced Nick Dean, who stepped down in September 2025 after seven years in charge of the force.

On 16 September the Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Panel will be asked to approve Megicks' rehiring in order to protect his pension.

The papers for that meeting refer to the national police officer retirement and rejoin scheme, which is designed to help the force "in the return of police officers with valuable skills and experience" who would otherwise retire or have retired in the past two years.

This move will prevent Megicks' pension pot from reducing, which matures after 30 years' service but reduces for each consecutive year of additional service.

By enforcing a break, the pension pot will be frozen at its maximum amount.

The policy also states officers close to retiring can access their pension commutation - a tax-free lump sum - "without experiencing any loss" and rejoin a force.

The officer will then receive their former rate of pay on rejoining if returning to their previous rank.

The report that will go before the panel said the scheme "does not create any additional cost to the taxpayer".

It is not available to officers who retired on health grounds, have been dismissed or resigned prior to pending disciplinary action.

Megicks - whose salary is about £188,000 - is not the first chief constable to retire and be rehired.

Both North Wales Police Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman and former West Midlands Police chief Craig Guildford have used the scheme in recent years.

In a letter from July to the county's Conservative police and crime commissioner (PCC) Darryl Preston, Megicks formally tendered his resignation.

"This decision has been made to facilitate my retirement... in accordance with the applicable pension arrangements and regulations governing service length and eligibility," he said.

He said he would make himself available to be reappointed and "would be keen to have the minimal amount of time away from the role".

The most recent inspection of Cambridgeshire Police by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, covering 2023 to 2025, found "leadership and force management" required improvement.

Megicks said: "My priority throughout this period is to ensure stability, continuity of leadership, and the effective discharge of my responsibilities to the public, the workforce, and our partners.

"I remain fully committed to maintaining public confidence and upholding the highest standards of integrity, and transparency throughout this process."

The panel, made up of 11 councillors from local authorities across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and two independent members, will meet on Wednesday.

The PCC said it was in the "best interests" of the force to retain a "proven leader with considerable calibre and experience".

It is proposed Megicks will retire on 29 September and return on a two-year contract on 28 October.

As it is a legal requirement for every police force in England and Wales to have a chief constable, a temporary replacement will be appointed.

This is expected to be the current deputy chief constable Chris Balmer, who returned to Cambridgeshire Police in December, having begun his career in the force in 2003.

Cambridgeshire Police said it had "invested heavily in leadership in the past few years".

The force stated since Megicks arrived a new leadership "framework" was launched and a leadership "programme" was being developed.

"During the four weeks the chief is away the deputy chief constable, who has several years' experience working in Cambridgeshire, will provide cover.

"That existing leadership will continue as we work towards rolling out a new leadership programme for all supervisors and leaders."

A National Police Chiefs' Council spokesperson said: "As is common with many other pension schemes, the option to retire and return to work allows officers and staff to access parts of their pension that they are entitled to, but also continue to work to serve the public if they wish."

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