Agenda item

It was noted that the current Chief Constable, Anthony Bangham had notified the PCC of his decision to retire from his current position in March 2021 and a recruitment exercise had been undertaken in response. On 30 June, the Panel was advised that following a thorough, open and competitive two day process involving four candidates, current Essex Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills had been chosen as the preferred candidate to be the next West Mercia Chief Constable.

Schedule 8 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act stated that within three weeks of receipt of notification of the proposed appointment by the PCC of a Chief Constable, the Panel:

a)         must undertake a review of the proposed appointment in accordance with the requirements set out in Schedule 8 of the Act

b)         must hold a public confirmation meeting

c)         must make a report to and make recommendations to the PCC in relation to the appointment of a Chief Constable by the PCC.

d)         may exercise its  right of veto in respect of the appointment in accordance with the Act and Regulations made under it.

The Act also stated that the PCC must notify the Panel of the preferred candidate for appointment as Chief Constable and provide it with the following information:

·         The name of the person whom the PCC is proposing to appoint;

·         The criteria used to assess the suitability of the candidate and how the candidate satisfied these criteria and

·         The terms and conditions under which the candidate was to be appointed.

The Agenda report provided the Panel with the Independent Report on the recruitment, application and interview process (Appendix A), the job profile and specification which set out the criteria used for assessment proposed terms and conditions (Appendix B).

The Chairman invited John Campion, PCC to address the Panel.

The PCC drew the Panels attention to the report which detailed the recruitment process and pointed out that pages 21 and 22 of the agenda papers should be disregarded. He reiterated that the role of the Panel was to consider the PCC’s proposed appointment of a Chief Constable and that the process had been overseen by an Independent Person.

Four applicants were shortlisted and all were assessed and following the process, the PCC offered DCC Pippa Mills (currently serving with Essex) the position of preferred candidate for the post of Chief Constable of West Mercia Police.

Pippa had been appointed as DCC of Essex Police in March 2019 and had overseen the growth of the force through the national Police Uplift Programme. Prior to this Pippa was the Essex Police Assistant Chief Constable overseeing Criminal Justice, Operational Policing and Contact Management. She transferred to Essex in May 2017 having begun her career in the Metropolitan Police Service which she joined in 1996.

The PCC commended Pippa Mills as the preferred candidate to the Panel and advised if successful she would hopefully be able to take up the role at the end September/early October.

The Chairman invited DCC Pippa Mills to address the Panel and in doing so she highlighted that she believed that West Mercia was a good force but aspired to make it a great force.  She had been in policing for 20 years and had worked in some very challenging boroughs.  She believed that there were synergies between West Mercia and Essex for example Essex was 70% rural but bordered Metropolitan areas.

The Chairman invited questions from the Panel, during which the following points were discussed:

·         In response to a question about the diversity of the county areas within West Mercia and the other adjoining Police Force areas eg West Midlands Police. Pippa explained that in terms of cross border criminals, there were regional arrangements and it was very important to share intelligence and work together, she believed that increasing the use of technology was the way forward.  A blended approach in terms of the use of technology and partnership working was key

·         In terms of tackling drugs in local areas, the use of the newly introduced Police Charter would be key

·         In response to a Members request for an example of a success/ challenge, Pippa advised that she was proud to say that in Essex, public confidence was a four year high. She then went on to give an example of the presidential visit in 2018, which although an element of this had not met the standards she thought appropriate, had reinforced her veiw that it was important to learn from mistakes.  The lessons learned had been shared and applied to a subsequent high profile event

·         The values of the Safer West Mercia Plan resonated with Pippa and she was keen to apply a clear vision to the Plan and build on the work of the previous CC, Anthony Bangham

·         A Member highlighted that West Mercia was a very varied area in terms of political leadership and questioned how Pippa would manage the political diversity.  Pippa explained that Essex had complexities, but she believed that the Police Charter set things out clearly and would ensure that local arrangements worked

·         A Member highlighted the importance of the communities of West Mercia being able to see a visible police presence.  Pippa explained that it was very important for communities to know who their local officer was but more importantly for the neighbourhood policing teams to tell communities what they were doing

·         In terms of working within the financial envelope, Pippa was very keen on effectiveness and efficiency

·         With regard to managing her relationship with the PCC, Pippa believed that the Policing Protocol 2011 was very clear in defining the priorities, as well as both having the same motivations ie public safety and public service

·         A Member suggested that it was important moving forward that there was consistency in approach to neighbourhood policing and community involvement was key in helping the Police build up intelligence, an approach that Pippa was very supportive of

·         The point was also made that working with local elected members was also important in building information about communities

·         Pippa advised the Panel that work would also be undertaken to listen to the hard to reach groups who were often reluctant to come forward, as well as the more structured community groups.

The Chairman thanked Pippa for answering the Panel’s questions and advised that the Panel would provide report to the PCC with its recommendation which would be published on the website and shared with the other West Mercia Authorities.

The Panel made its decision at the end of the meeting.

RESOLVED:  That in accordance with Section 100 A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting in relation to the business specified as it was likely that if members of the public were present, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act, and the public interest in withholding the information outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

The Panel agreed that while there may have been a public interest in disclosing this information, namely openness in the deliberations of the Panel in determining its recommendation regarding the proposed appointment, it was felt that, on balance, this was outweighed by other factors in favour of maintaining the exemption, namely enabling a full discussion regarding the merits of the proposed appointment.

RESOLVED: THAT Pippa Mills was confirmed as the Chief Constable of West Mercia Police Service without qualification.

The Panel was impressed by DCC Pippa Mills’ understanding of the complexity of policing West Mercia, her strong professional knowledge and understanding of the independence of the Chief Constable role.