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STATES OF JERSEY
STATES OF JERSEY POLICE FORCE: CHIEF OFFICER AND DEPUTY CHIEF OFFICER – INTERIM APPOINTMENTS
Presented to the States on 24th July 2017 by the Minister for Home Affairs
STATES GREFFE
2017 R.93
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REPORT
The Minister for Home Affairs intends to appoint the current Deputy Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police Force ("S.o.J.P.F."), Mr. Rob Bastable, as Acting Chief Officer, and to appoint Mr. Julian Blazeby as Acting Deputy Chief Officer. These interim appointments are required to meet operational policing needs and ensure the continuation of a robust command structure in the run-up to the full retirement of Mr. Mike Bowron from the post of Chief Officer on 31st October 2017. Mr. Bowron has accrued both annual leave and days off in lieu which are due before the end of October, necessitating the establishment of interim arrangements. These interim appointments are in accordance with a recruitment and succession plan for these senior posts, which is supported by the Jersey Appointments Commission and the Jersey Police Authority.
Background
The Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel 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. 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.
During 2015, the appointment of Mr. Bowron as Chief Officer was extended for a further period of 4 years to January 2021. Mr. Bowron has since decided that he will retire shortly after his 60th birthday, which provides an opportunity to continue to progress the planned approach to succession, but is also expected to create some time- limited gaps in local successions to senior posts.
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 (chapter 23.820) 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. These senior ranks within the 50 or so police forces across the British Isles combine to form the National Police Chiefs' Council, which includes Jersey and the other Crown Dependencies.
As there is no suitably qualified police officer within the S.o.J.P.F. for the Minister to appoint as Acting Deputy Chief Officer, the Minister intends to make a temporary appointment of a suitably qualified senior officer from the British Isles who can fill this gap in the short term.
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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.
Biographies
Mr. Rob Bastable
Mr. Bastable is currently the Deputy Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police Force, with overall responsibility for operational policing, having previously been Superintendent, Head of Uniformed Operations. Prior to taking up his appointment with the S.o.J.P.F. in 2014, Mr. Bastable served for 30 years with the City of London Police Force. He has an extensive operational and command background, ranging from firearms and road policing to management of major and critical incidents. Mr. Bastable is a graduate of the F.B.I. Law Enforcement Executive Development Programme, Washington, U.S.A., and passed the Police Strategic Command Course in 2011.
Mr. Julian Blazeby
Mr. Blazeby is currently Director, Major Investigations, for the Independent Police Complaints Commission ("I.P.C.C.)". He has extensive experience of leading and managing complex, sensitive and challenging investigations, having served as a police officer for 30 years. Before joining the I.P.C.C., Mr. Blazeby worked for the Ministry of Defence, providing expert advice regarding the Services Police, and implementing a new inspection programme, delivered by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. Mr. Blazeby is the former Assistant Chief Constable of the Staffordshire Police, and before that served with both the Norfolk Constabulary and the Suffolk Constabulary. Mr. Blazeby has a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice, and passed the Police Strategic Command Course in 2011.
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