West Midlands Police have appointed four new Assistant Chief Constables following a challenging selection process this week.
The new appointments were welcomed by Chief Constable Craig Guildford who chaired the board along with Debbie Tedds, Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police, and West Midlands Police Deputy Chief Constable Scott Green. The whole process was overseen by Director of People and Commercial Services Peter Gillett.
Chief Constable Guildford thanked all the applicants, stakeholder panel members and staff association members for helping facilitate a challenging assessment process which put applicants through their paces. Candidates included previous strategic command course (SCC) applicants and individuals on the new police leadership programme, and the appointments will become substantive upon successful completion of the leadership programme.
The successful candidates are:
Detective Chief Superintendent Damian Barratt from West Mercia Police who will take up the Assistant Chief Constable position with responsibility for the security portfolio. With 28 years’ service spanning a number of local and regional crime SIO postings, Damian brings a wealth of investigative and operational experience which will help lead and shape the regional serious and organised crime response along with regional and national counter terrorism leadership. Damian has also undertaken several periods of temporary ACC duties in West Mercia over the past two years having passed the SCC in 2021.
Detective Chief Superintendent Jennie Mattinson will move from Staffordshire Police where she leads Public Protection after having undertaken a period of temporary ACC duties in Staffordshire over the past eighteen months. Jennie has 22 years’ service with an extensive portfolio of operational command experience in public protection, local policing, crime and change management. She will head up the crime portfolio in West Midlands Police.
Temporary ACC Matt Welsted has been on secondment with West Midlands Police from Cheshire Constabulary where he was a temporary ACC for three years. Matt will retain his current portfolio which includes contact, change and digital. Matt and his team have helped West Midlands Police achieve a seismic shift in call handling performance over the past six months. Matt has 27 years’ service and is a specialist firearms commander with an extensive track record in leading complex change and IT programmes including reactive facial recognition technology.
Temporary ACC Mike O’Hara has led Force Operations in the West Midlands after having been a local policing commander at Coventry during his 25 years’ service. He leads a number of regional collaborations and working groups and supports the national firearms portfolio in helping develop command and specialist firearms training delivery in the West Midlands. Mike will remain in his current post.
Chief Constable Guildford said: “The appointments I have made reflect applicants who want to work in a busy force which is continuing to make solid improvement gains across the board despite its structural fiscal challenges.
“These appointments will continue to build upon our new local policing model where we are answering more calls for service, arresting more suspects, investigating more offences, charging more people and responding to local issues with local officers in order to keep the public safe.
“My new colleagues will lead big business areas where change is a constant, demand is unstinting and the workforce are eager to serve. West Midlands Police has some exceptionally capable officers and staff of all backgrounds. What better a diverse challenge could one wish for professionally as a newly appointed assistant chief constable.”
