Crime squad chief appointed

Regional police chief Roy Penrose has been appointed as the first head of the newly established National Crime Squad, it was announced yesterday

Mr Penrose 55, currently co-ordinator of regional crime squads in England and Wales, is to become director-general of the national unit which has been set to help investigate serious crimes throughout the country. The squad will begin work next April and will assist police forces, customs and MI5. In a second appointment, John Hamilton, 53, the Chief Constable of Fife, will be the new director-general of the National Criminal Intelligence Service, the organisation which collections and analyses information. Next April, NCIS will break away from the Home Office and become an independent agency to work alongside the new crime squad.