New cop at top

The 48-year-old replaces former chief Meredydd Hughes, who retired last October after 32 years in the police service.

Mr Crompton, from Manchester, joins from West Yorkshire Police, where he held a series of senior roles and had responsibility for overseeing proposals to save the force more than £100 million by 2015.

Mr Crompton said: “It is a great honour and privilege to become chief constable of South Yorkshire Police, a force which has a fantastic reputation as one of the best in the country.”

“I am looking forward to the challenge of leading the force through what is a significant transitional period for policing across the UK. We will have to successfully manage the reduction in our budgets, changes to our partner agencies and the impact this will have on communities across South Yorkshire.”

“A lot of work has been undertaken in South Yorkshire to ensure crime is at its lowest for more than 20 years. We will be doing all we can to continue this success.”

Mr Crompton, who gained a diploma in applied criminology at Cambridge University, will take up the position in the next few weeks.

South Yorkshire Police Authority chair Charles Perryman said: “We are pleased to appoint Mr Crompton as chief constable. He joins South Yorkshire Police with fantastic credentials and experience, and will be a real asset to the county.”

“Mr Crompton faces a difficult test in guiding South Yorkshire Police through a tough economic climate and with the pending arrival of the elected police and crime commissioners will have to manage an ever-changing landscape within policing.”

“As an authority we look forward to working with Mr Crompton, outlining his key priorities as chief constable and liaising with all partners to ensure those objectives are met for the benefit of South Yorkshire.”

South Yorkshire Police temporary chief constable Bob Dyson, said: “We welcome David Crompton to South Yorkshire Police and look forward to working with him and to continue to reduce crime and tackle the issues that concern the local public.”

“David joins us at a challenging time but the force is well placed to meet those challenges.”