People

Home Secretary appoints two new inspectors

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has announced the appointments of Lee Freeman KPM and Michelle Skeer QPM as new inspectors of police and fire and rescue services. They will both take up the dual roles of His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary in England and Wales and Inspector of Fire and Rescue in England. Lee Freeman will leave his role as… Read more »

New chief for Scottish Ambulance Service

Michael Dickson OBE has been confirmed as the new Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service. He is currently Chief Executive of NHS Shetland and NHS Orkney and will take over from current SAS Chief Executive Pauline Howie OBE, who is retiring. A start date is still to be agreed, but the two will work… Read more »

Dame Lynne Owens confirmed as Met Deputy Commissioner

Having served as interim Deputy Commissioner since September 2022, the Met has confirmed that Dame Lynne Owens has been appointed to the post on a permanent basis. Dame Lynne has spent more than 32 years working in policing and national security where she led the National Crime Agency. She joins Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley… Read more »

New Chief Constable confirmed for Wiltshire Police

Catherine Roper will be the next Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police. Wiltshire’s Police and Crime Panel approved the selection after PCC Philip Wilkinson selected her as his preferred candidate last month. Catherine takes over as Chief Constable after Kier Pritchard announced in November his intention to retire after 30 years in policing later this year…. Read more »

Former fire chief to head up police authority

Susan Johnson OBE has been appointed as the new Chair of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority. Susan is a former chief executive of Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, where she served until her retirement in 2015. Since then she has held non-executive roles in the public and private sector. She will be taking… Read more »

New chief for South Central Ambulance Service

David Eltringham has been appointed Chief Executive Officer at South Central Ambulance Service. He starts his new role in March 2023. For the last four and a half years David has been working as Managing Director at George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, Nuneaton, one of three District General Hospitals that make up the Foundation Group. Prior… Read more »

Suffolk confirms new Chief Constable

Suffolk’s Police and Crime Panel has confirmed the formal appointment of Rachel Kearton as Suffolk Constabulary’s Chief Constable. Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore presented his proposal to appoint Rachel following a robust recruitment process held last month. The panel unanimously supported the appointment. Rachel had been acting Chief Constable since the departure of former… Read more »

New Chief Fire Officer for Shropshire

Simon Hardiman has been promoted to Chief Fire Officer for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service and will take up the role in January. He succeeds Rod Hammerton who is retiring after seven years as Chief Fire Officer and a 30 year career in the fire and rescue service. Joining Shropshire five years ago, Simon is… Read more »

Surrey confirms new Chief Fire Officer

Surrey Fire and Rescue Service has appointed Dan Quin as its new permanent Chief Fire Officer. Dan has been acting-up as Chief Fire Officer since June 2022, prior to that he was the county’s Deputy Chief Fire Officer since October 2019. He has served his whole career within Surrey Fire and Rescue Service since joining… Read more »

Celebrating 20 years up in the sky

Sammy Wills, Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s (YAA) longest-serving HEMS Paramedic has celebrated her 20-year anniversary at the Charity. Yorkshire Air Ambulance is a lifesaving rapid response emergency service serving five million people across 4 million acres of Yorkshire. Last year, the crew responded to more than 1,700 incidents across the region. Sammy joined the Charity on… Read more »