Tackling Abuse
To protect the most vulnerable, support victims, and take action to prevent and stand up against all forms of domestic abuse, sexual violence and hate crime.
I have lived in the Dorset area my whole life and love living here, I could never imagine leaving! My grandfather owned and ran a local family photography business in Christchurch and my grandmother was a nurse. They had four wonderful daughters, my mother and three aunties. My mother was an officer for Dorset Police but then left to have me!
I studied at St Peter’s School, Southbourne, then Brockenhurst College and then I graduated as a mature student with a BSc Hons in Public Service at Plymouth University. I became a Police Special Constable for Hampshire Police for several years and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, including the challenges officers face in sometimes very difficult situations.
I am married and we live in Bournemouth with a very noisy sausage dog! Please say hello if you see me, but be warned, my small four-legged friend does love to bark!
It gives me great pleasure to step forward as a candidate for the PCC for the area I love, live and work in. Please read below to find out more about my experience.
I currently work as an Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Service Manager for a large housing association in the South West of England which encompasses risk management and mitigation at a local level. I am the strategic lead in offering solutions and guidance to the organisation, its colleagues, customers, stakeholders and communities to resolve complex cases, ensuring safeguarding is a priority and to deliver community safety strategies. The role requires me to evaluate, mitigate risks to the business, individuals and / or the community, to ensure all enforcement, both non-legal and legal have been utilised correctly whilst considering protected characteristics under the Equality Act and Human Rights laws to ensure no one is disadvantaged.
In order to be effective in this role, I rely upon strong leadership skills, negotiation and interpersonal qualities. I work on those skills to influence, encourage and empower others to bring about change which is crucial when dealing with a variety of external agencies. I have come to understand the fundamental need for collaboration between those agencies as part of a multiagency response for risk reduction and mitigation within communities.
I have developed my career built around communities, working for a large housing association. I have been the Regional Anti-Social Behaviour Manager (ASB) covering the Dorset, Hampshire, Berkshire, and Surrey regions for the last 8 years. This is a specialist ASB service that works closely with our partners across the Police, the NHS, local authorities, social services, fire service, probation services and charities to keep communities safe.
Through our partnership work, we utilise our tools and powers to combat high impact ASB such as (this list is not exhaustive) county lines, exploitation, physical violence, all forms of domestic abuse, drug dealing and hate crime.
Over the last 15 years I have also volunteered and gained valuable experience with:
I currently sit on:
I have stepped forward as a candidate for Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner as it’s my priority to work to influence local and national policy.
I went straight into the financial industry from college and quickly realised I needed to align my career and my passion for community work. As a result, I decided to go back to higher education and, whilst continuing to work to fund my studies, I graduated with a BSc Honours in Public Service from Plymouth University.
I want to utilise my skills and knowledge in communities, housing and policing to support and represent the local community. I’m here to listen and take action to help drive forward improvements that can make a real impact on keeping our area a safe place to live.