Staff

In addition to the 17 Police Authority members there are 12 staff who work at the Police Authority. This page outlines the role profile of each team.

Staff Organisation Chart - Nov 2010

As well as the full time posts within the office, the Police Authority also has a part time Treasurer, Ian Cosh and is supported by a dedicated legal advisor team and media support service.

Our Chief Executive

The current Chief Executive is Miranda Carruthers-Watt, who was appointed in April 2007. The Chief Executive is the senior officer who leads and takes responsibility for the work of the paid staff of the Authority. The role of Chief Executive is a full time appointment. Post holders are selected on merit, against objective criteria, following public advertisement.  They are appointed by the whole Authority.

As head of the paid service, the Chief Executive works closely with the Police Authority Members:-

• To provide strategic guidance to the Authority in the development of priorities and plans for the policing of the Lancashire area.
• To provide strategic guidance to the Authority in the scrutiny and continuous improvement of policing in Lancashire.
• To develop and maintain effective relationships with the Chief Constable and senior officers of the Constabulary.
• To develop and maintain effective relationships with key partners of the Authority at local, regional and national level (including the Home Office, the Inspectorate, the Association of Police Authorities, and Government Office North-West).
• To develop and maintain effective links with the people of Lancashire through arrangements for communication, consultation and accountability.
• To support the Authority in the appointment and oversight of chief officers of the Constabulary.
• To fulfil the statutory responsibilities of Clerk to the Authority, and (if designated as such) of Chief Finance Officer or Monitoring Officer.
• To act as the Authority’s principal policy adviser and head of paid service for all matters relevant to its responsibilities.
• To ensure that the Authority has a proper regard for equalities and diversity in all of its activities.
• To manage the resources of the Authority, whether directly controlled or supplied under contract.

Miranda is supported by her Personal Assistant, Debbie Bryant, and the rest of the team.

Our Treasurer

Ian Cosh was appointed as the Treasurer of the Authority in September 2008.  Ian is the Authority’s statutory financial officer with overall responsibility for the administration of the police authority’s financial affairs, as set out in sections 112 and 114 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988.  He provides financial advice to the Police Authority on all aspects of its activity, including financial propriety and the strategic planning and policy-making process.

Our Deputy Chief Executive

Christine Durber was appointed as the Deputy Chief Executive of the Authority in May 2008. Christine is responsible for the operational management of the Authority’s staff and functions on a day-to-day basis; Governance including corporate and business planning and Learning and Development in relation to both staff and Members.

Our Governance Team

The Authority has one Policy Officer, Bev Wood, one Partnerships and Performance Officer, Robert Ruston and a Committee Administrator, Ian Dickinson.

The team is responsible for Authority Policy and Planning, Performance Scrutiny, Oversight of Police Complaints, Committee Administration, Chief Police Officer and Member appointments and the management of the Authority’s Volunteer Schemes.

 Our Community Engagement Team

The team is responsible for all outward facing communication with the public. Our aim is to ensure that the people of Lancashire are aware of what the Police Authority is and what it does. It is important that the public are given the opportunity to voice their views on policing and contribute to the decisions that the Authority makes. We are responsible for:

• public consultation and community engagement
• external publications eg local policing summary, budget leaflet
• community events
• co-ordinating internal and external communications
• giving feedback to the public about the Authority
• making sure that the public’s views on policing are fed into the Authority’s performance scrutiny and planning processes
• development of community engagement policy

Our Head of Community Engagement is Naomi Walker and our Community Engagement Officer is Danielle Bowater.

Our Office Team

The office team has responsibility for the smooth running of the Police Authority office including liaising with Members and staff ensuring that they have the facilities to function daily including financial management, the provision of stationery, equipment, IT and other resources. The team also provide support for all the other teams within the organisation on a variety of tasks.

Our Resources Manager is Sue Hamilton and the team includes a Senior Administrative Officer, Jay Nicholas and two Administrative Officers Becky Atkinson and Sarah Steele.

To Contact us:

We welcome your views and opinions, you can contact us by:

Phone 01772 533587
Fax 01772 768893
Email LPA.information@lancashire.gov.uk
Website www.lancspa.gov.uk