Chief Superintendent Dave Thomas has been a Police Officer in Hampshire since 1984. He returned to Southampton as Area Commander in April 2011 having previously worked in the City′s Criminal Investigation Department during the 1990`s. Prior to taking up his current role he has commanded both the Isle of Wight Police Area and the Specialist Operations Department.

His policing philosophy is that strong, safe and confident communities are always found where there is a strong and constructive partnership between the public and the organisations who serve them. He would like Southampton′s Local Police Teams to be known for doing the right things, for the right reasons, in the right way, where the most vulnerable members of our society are at the very core of their work.

He is a member of Southampton′s CONNECT Partnership which is a multi-agency group striving to bring about improvements to city life and he currently chairs the Integrated Offender Management Group which is working to reduce offending across the Area.