The longest serving Chief Constable in England and Wales will retire after a decade at the helm of a Midlands constabulary this week.

John Giffard is already making plans to play every golf course in the county and take a cricket umpiring course after he hands over the reins at Staffordshire Police to his successor David Swift on Sunday.

The 54-year-old joined the force as a beat bobby in 1973 and - apart from four-and-a-half years as assistant chief constable at North Yorkshire Police - he has remained with the force ever since.

He succeeded Charles Kelly as chief in 1996 and steered the organisation through major changes, recently overseeing a national working group o ver proposed police reforms for Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary. Chief Con Giffard said: "It's very unusual to be lucky enough to get to know a force as well as I have got to know this one.

"I have a great affinity for it and for all the people who serve - whether officers, police staff or special constables. This force has always been a force of doers - people who don't hang back and aren't afraid to get stuck in."

Over the past decade the force has recorded significant drops in key crimes, including car theft and burglaries which fell from 12,407 in 1996 to 4,042 by February 2006.

Staffordshire Police was recognised as one of the top three forces in the country in 2004, as a result of initiatives such as ethical recording of crimes and re-organisation of the cons tabulary into four divisions.

In Mr Giffard's decade at the helm there were no undetected murders. He began his career after graduating from South-ampton University. Initial spells in uniform in Stafford and as a detective constable at Cannock were followed by sergeant posts in Cannock and Brewood before promotion to inspector in the control room at force headquarters, then as a shift inspector at Newcastle.

In 1984 he became the chief constable's staff officer before holding superintendent posts and becoming divisional commander in Cannock in 1991. He switched to North Yorkshire as assistant chief constable before his return to Staffordshire as chief.

Hazel Blears MP, minister for policing, said: "The Home Secretary and I greatly valued his contribution and I would like to send him every good wish on his retirement."