Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police Force- appointment

STATES OF JERSEY

CHIEF OFFICER OF THE STATES OF JERSEY POLICE FORCE: APPOINTMENT

Lodged au Greffe on 26th October 2010 by the Minister for Home Affairs

STATES GREFFE

2010   Price code: B  P.162

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

in accordance with the provisions of Article 9(1) of the Police Force (Jersey) Law 1974, to appoint Mr. Michael Bowron as Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police for a period of 6 years from 4th January 2011 until 3rd January 2017.

MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS

REPORT

In accordance with the provisions of Article 9(1) of the Police Force (Jersey) Law 1974, the Minister for Home Affairs is seeking the approval of the States to the appointment of the next Chief Officer of Police.

In August 2010, an advertisement was placed in the UK to find the next Chief Officer of Police, to commence in 2011, when the current Acting Chief Officer leaves the Island.

A number of candidates were interviewed against a full competency requirement for Chief Officer and the Appointments Panel unanimously selected Mr. Michael Bowron.

The Appointments Panel consisted of –

Mr. Alan Merry – Chairman of the Appointments Commission

Mr. Brian Curtis – Appointments Commission Representative Senator B.I. Le Marquand – Minister for Home Affairs

Mr. W. Ogley – Chief Executive, States of Jersey

Ms R. Davies – Director, Human Resources

Mr. Bernard Hogan-Howe – Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary.

The Panel have made a strong recommendation to the Minister that Mr. Bowron be appointed to the post of Chief Officer, States of Jersey Police, when the current Acting Chief Officer leaves the Island.

The  Proposition  is  for  an  appointment  for  a  period  of  6 years  commencing  on 4th January 2011. The making of an appointment by the States for a fixed period of time is a departure from previous practice. The Minister believes that any extension of the term of office of the Chief Officer of Police should be approved by the States.

The Minister recommends that Mr. Michael Bowron is appointed to the post of Chief Officer, States of Jersey Police, with effect from 4th January 2011, for the period of 6 years.

Financial and manpower implications

There are no additional financial or manpower implications for the States arising from this proposition as Mr. Bowron will be replacing the existing Acting Chief Officer when he takes up his appointment.

APPENDIX

Biography – Mr. Mike Bowron

Mr. Bowron is the Commissioner (Commanding Officer and the equivalent of Chief Constable) for the City of London Police, having been promoted to the role in 2006. The  City  of  London  Police  is  a  small  Force,  with  an  establishment  of 1,200 employees, including 850 Police Officers and a resident population of 8,043, with  4,421 households.  These  numbers  are  increased  by  the  daily  influx  of approximately  350,000 commuters  working  in  the  City  and  approxixmately 500,000 tourists.

Mr. Bowron  has  a  BA (Hons)  in  Sociology  from  Sussex  University  in  1989  and worked in the insurance market before joining Sussex Police in 1980, attending the Special  Course  in  1984.  He  served  in  a  range  of  uniform  roles  up  to  Chief Superintendent level, including Head of Operations at Brighton and as Head of the Force Inspectorate. In 1995 he completed the Strategic Command Course and was appointed as Assistant Chief Constable (Operations) in Kent in 1997.

In 2000 he was seconded for the purpose of advising the British Government on reform of the Indonesian Police. He returned to Kent in 2001 and took responsibility for Central Operations, which included the Crime function. He helped develop the Kent Policing Model which subsequently became the National Intelligence Model (NIM). In 2002 he became the Assistant Commissioner for the City of London Police. He  was  an  active  member  of  the  Association  of  Chief  Police  Officers  (ACPO) Terrorist and Allied Matters (TAM) and ACPO Cabinet. He had responsibility for all operational matters.

He was awarded the Queen's Policing Medal in 2007.

His major achievements are –

• He became a Basic Command Unit Commander in Sussex with only 11 years' service.
• He was a Member of ACPO Media Advisory Group and was National Police spokesman' on issues such as the National Fire Strike and the Iraq War.
• He has overseen a 40% fall in crime during his time with the City of London Police.
• He has led a re-branding and restructuring of the City of London Police.
• He has negotiated with the Attorney General for the Force to become the first to have Lead Force Status' for Economic Crime and Fraud.
• As Assistant Commissioner he introduced Project Griffin' which was designed to engage the private sector in the defence against terrorism.
• He was Head of Operations for the City's response to the Aldgate Underground site following the 7/7 bombings.
• He  is  currently  the  ACPO  lead  on  Economic  Crime,  as  well  as Business Continuity.

• He launched the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau.
• He graduated from the FBI Academy, Quantico in 2007.

Mr. Bowron has a keen interest in sport and is a competitive athlete. He has run a sub- 3 hour marathon and is the Chairman of Police Sport (UK) Athletics, cross-country running and athletics sections.