North Yorkshire’s police commissioner rejected plans to appoint an interim chief constable in favour of starting a recruitment process despite being advised it could coincide with a mayoral election.
Lisa Winward, who is currently chief constable at North Yorkshire Police, will retire on March 31, 2024.
Conservative commissioner Zoe Metcalfe will appoint a permanent successor despite the commissioner’s office being abolished when a Mayor of York and North Yorkshire is elected in May 2024.
The mayor is set to take on police commissioner powers, which include the ability to appoint a chief constable.
In a report from Simon Dennis, chief executive at the commissioner’s office, he advised Ms Metcalfe that there was a risk that a recruitment timeline could slip into the pre-election period before the mayoral election.
But Ms Metcalfe announced that the recruitment process should start imminently as it was in the “public interest” to do so.
She said:
“I am keen to commence the recruitment process to ensure an appointment is made to take over the reins from chief constable Winward. This will ensure that North Yorkshire Police has inspirational, visionary and stable leadership at the helm providing strategic and operational leadership and resilience at a vital time for North Yorkshire Police”
“Whilst the decision is mine, I have not reached it without full and frank input from those who are qualified to advise me. In consultation with key national and local stakeholders, I am satisfied that it is in the public interest to launch the recruitment process.”
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In a report, the commissioner was offered alternative options, which included appointing the deputy chief constable to the position until after the mayoral election or to appoint an interim chief constable.
The report said the option of appointing the deputy chief constable to the role should be given “serious consideration” as it would avoid “any measure of constitutional and/or political controversy”.
But it added that the commissioner “is known to be uneasy about a decision which would consequentially give rise to acting arrangements in the roles of chief constable, deputy chief constable and one assistant chief constable role”.
Ms Metcalfe turned down the alternative options in favour of starting a recruitment process.
A ‘short-sighted, ill-informed’ decision
Keith Tordoff
Keith Tordoff, independent candidate for Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said the move to start the search for a chief constable was “wrong”.
He said:
“The decision by Zoe Metcalfe is short-sighted, ill-informed, and not in the best interest of the people of North Yorkshire, or the police force itself.
“This is the wrong decision as Lisa Winward retires at the end of March, and a new mayor is elected just a month later in May.
“The mayor takes over as the police, fire, and crime commissioner, and needs to be part of the process of electing the successor that they will be working closely with.”
