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States of Jersey Police Force: Deputy Chief Officer – interim appointment

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STATES OF JERSEY

STATES OF JERSEY POLICE FORCE: DEPUTY CHIEF OFFICER – INTERIM APPOINTMENT

Presented to the States on 3rd August 2018 by the Minister for Home Affairs

STATES GREFFE

2018  R.105

2

REPORT

The Minister for Home Affairs intends to appoint the current Superintendent of the States of Jersey Police Force ("S.o.J.P.F.), Mr. James Wileman, as Acting Deputy Chief Officer.  This  interim  appointment  is  required  to  meet  organisational  as  well  as operational policing needs, and to ensure a robust command structure in the run-up to the resignation of Mr. Julian Blazeby from the post of Deputy Chief Officer, whereupon he will take the office of Director General of Justice and Home Affairs. Mr. Blazeby is also currently fulfilling the functions of Chief Officer in accordance with Article 8(2) of the States of Jersey Police Force Law 2012. This interim appointment is made in accordance with a recruitment and succession plan for senior posts, which is supported by  the  Jersey  Appointments  Commission  and  the  Jersey  Police  Authority.  These organisational changes are proposed to take place on Monday 20th August 2018.

Background

The Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel's report on Succession Planning within the States of Jersey Police (S.R.7/2011) presented to the States on 19th May 2011, recommended that a more planned approach should be taken to succession within the senior ranks of the Police Force, including increased investment in skills development, improved transfer of external expertise, and more use of secondment programmes. The recommendations made by the Panel were accepted by the then Minister for Home Affairs, and it was recognised that a more planned approach to succession would require a sustained effort over a number of years. Following the appointment of Mr. Mike Bowron as Chief Officer of the S.o.J.P.F. in 2011, a longer-term Police Force senior succession plan was enacted which, over recent years, has included the participation of local  officers  in  the  national  police  High  Potential  Development  Scheme  and secondments to overseas police forces. Superintendent James Wileman has been one of the participating officers.

The States of Jersey Police Force (Chief Officer and Deputy Chief Officer) (Jersey) Regulations 2017 (R&O.24/2017), made under the States of Jersey Police Force Law 2012, require that the Minister for Home Affairs must be satisfied that a person is suitably qualified before making relevant appointments. The national standard is that the Police Strategic Command Course must be satisfactorily completed before an officer may be substantively appointed to the rank of Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable, or  Assistant  Chief  Constable.  Superintendent  Wileman  completed  this  course  in March 2018.

These senior ranks within the police forces across the British Isles combine to form the National  Police  Chiefs'  Council,  which  includes  Jersey  and  the  other  Crown Dependencies.

There will be a recruitment exercise undertaken later in the year in order to make substantive appointments to the positions of Chief Officer and Deputy Chief Officer of the  S.o.J.P.F.  These  appointments  will  be  overseen  by  the  Jersey  Appointments Commission and will involve the Jersey Police Authority.

R.105/2018

3

Biography

Superintendent James Wileman has responsibility for the delivery of uniform policing and  operations.  This  includes  24/7  Police  response,  Community  policing,  Roads policing, the Communications Centre and Force Control Room, the Custody unit, Firearms team, Training Department, the policing of public order and the night-time economy, the Dog section, Emergency Planning, Crime Recording, Volume Crime Investigation, the policing of Island events and Force-wide duties planning.

Superintendent Wileman was appointed to the rank in March 2016, having risen through the ranks. He has spent much of his career in uniform policing, but has also worked in Crime Services and Corporate Development. He is a locally-born Officer and was educated at Victoria College before studying for a business degree in the UK, later joining the Police in 2003. In 2011 he became the first Channel Island officer to earn a place on the national High Potential Development Scheme, run each year by the College of Policing, where a small number of officers are selected from across the UK and trained to become senior officers of the future. Since joining the scheme he has completed a Post-graduate diploma in Police Leadership and Management, and is currently studying towards a Master's degree through Warwick Business School.

In 2014, Superintendent Wileman was seconded to the City of London Police for 7 months, where he worked as part of the Uniform Policing Management team. During that time he held several senior roles in the command of events, both as a Silver and Bronze Commander, most notably having responsibility for the iconic Tower Bridge section of the London Marathon; the Embankment and Westminster section of the 2014 Tour-de-France; and worked at the 2014 FA Cup Final at Wembley. Building upon his experience in London, he is a Gold Commander for most local events, and led the policing response to the Island Games in 2015. Following the completion of several projects and reviews, Superintendent Wileman received a Commendation for his work in London. He is supported in his current role by 2 Chief Inspectors, 6 Inspectors and around 22 Sergeants. Additionally, he is a nationally accredited Tactical and Strategic Firearms  Commander  for  both  spontaneous  and  pre-planned  incidents.  In  2018, Superintendent Wileman became the first local Police Officer to successfully sit and complete the Strategic Command Course, the gateway qualification to Chief Officer ranks across the British Isles.

R.105/2018