Board Members
The Board is the primary decision making body in relation to criminal justice activity for Bedfordshire and is chaired by Gillian Parker, Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Police.
Gillian Parker, Chair of the Board & Chief Constable, Bedfordshire Police
Gillian studied at Loughborough University of Technology where she gained an Honours Degree in chemical engineering and a Diploma in Industrial Studies. She began her Police service with Leicestershire Constabulary in 1980 as a Constable and rose to the rank of Superintendent. In 1998 Gillian transferred to Suffolk Constabulary on promotion to Assistant Chief Constable and in 2000 achieved the rank of Deputy Chief Constable. She was awarded the Queens Police Medal in 2003 and has a Master's Degree in Applied Criminology with the University of Cambridge. Gillian took over as the Chief Constable of Bedfordshire in July 2005.
Richard Newcombe, Chief Crown Prosecutor for Bedfordshire, CPS
Richard was called to the Bar in 1979. He was educated at Cheltenham Grammar School and Bristol University where he obtained a degree in law. After a short period in banking and lecturing in law, he specialised in Criminal Law at the Bar. He joined Thames Valley prosecuting solicitors department in 1985 and transferred to the CPS in 1986. In 1993 he moved to the Harrow branch of CPS London, becoming Branch Crown Prosecutor of the Ealing and Hounslow Branch and Branch Crown Prosecutor for the Westminster Branch. Richard became Chief Crown Prosecutor for Bedfordshire in 2001 and was the Chair of Bedfordshire Criminal Justice Board between 2003 -2005.
Anita Briddon, Head of Luton Youth Offending Service
Anita is a qualified teacher and social worker who has worked in youth justice for 19 years. She has also worked in a variety of other settings including schools, probation, an adolescent psychiatric unit, residential childcare and as a university lecturer. Anita has been Head of Luton Youth Offending Service since September 2004. During her first year in post Anita improved the performance of the service and this has now been consistently maintained over the years making the service one of the highest performers in the country. A report by the Joint Inspectorate of Youth Offending Services, published March 2008, consolidated the high reputation of the service.
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Sue Corbett, Head of Bedfordshire Youth Offending Service
Sue trained as a teacher and later as a social worker. She worked in a number of residential adolescent units and in the late 80's ran the Bedfordshire Secure Unit, before working ina locality child care team. Sue moved into Youth Justice in the early 90's, becoming Team Leader at the Dunstable Community Juvenile Centre then moving to Bedford to take up a similar role. Sue was integral to the implementation of the Youth Offending Service in 1998 and held a number of senior roles before becoming Head of Service in 2008.
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Linda Hennigan, Chief Officer, National Probation Service Bedfordshire
Linda Hennigan joined Bedfordshire Probation in May 2007 as Chief Officer from London Probation where she was an Assistant Chief Officer responsible for public protection and victims. Mrs Hennigan joined the probation service in London in 1988 and has worked as a probation officer, a court welfare officer, and in the training and development field. She was appointed as senior probation officer in 2001, and became an operational assistant chief officer in 2003 in London with responsibility for the Camden and Islington area.
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Mark Stewart, Director of Opertions, HM Courts Service (Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire)
Mark joined the, then, Lord Chancellor’s Department in November 1987 as a direct entrant graduate, having obtained a law degree at Manchester University. He has held a wide variety of posts since, most recently as SE Regional Head of Operations & Estates. In his current role Mark is ultimately responsible for the performance of all the courts (both civil and criminal) across the two counties. He tries to get ‘out and about’ regularly as he strongly believes in the need for senior managers to be visible and accessible.
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Frank Flynn, Governor, HM Prison Bedford
Frank Flynn joined the Prison Service in 1976 as an Officer at Ashwell. He worked through the ranks to become Principal Officer PE at Highpoint. He worked for a period of time as Head of the Special Units at Woodhill and as the Head of Residence at Grendon. During the last twelve years he has spent two secondments in HMPS working on various Prison Service policy areas. In January 2003 he was appointed Governor of Werrington. Frank was appointed Governor of Bedford in September 2007.
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Katherine Govier, Assistant Chief Constable, Bedfordshire Police
Katherine joined Bedfordshire Police as Assistant Chief Constable for Territorial Policing in May 2007. She began her career with Thames Valley Police in 1982 where Katherine held a variety of uniform posts and led 3 departments - Head of Territorial Policing, Head of Corporate Development, and Head of Personnel. During 2005-2006 Katherine undertook two periods of Acting Assistant Chief Constable, Local Policing (Territorial Policing). Between 1996-2004 she held the positions of Treasurer and Chair of the Thames Valley Branch of the Superintendents' Association. In her current role within Bedfordshire Police, Katherine is responsible for the Call Handling Centre. Criminal Justice and Citizen Focus.
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David Padgett, Divisional Manager, Victim Support (Bedfordshire & Cambridgeshire)
David joined the voluntary sector in 1994, previously he worked as a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist treating staff in the financial sector for trauma following robbery at work. He has worked for a number of charities including a Volunteer Bureau, a theatre company and a charity that supported the visually impaired. David joined Victim Support in 2003 and was promoted from Area Manager in Hertfordshire to Divisional Manager of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
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David Williams, Legal Services Commission
David represents the LSC on Bedfordshire and Essex Criminal Justice Boards. The LSC is responsible for administering legal aid in England & Wales, including ensuring someone accused of a criminal offence has access to legal advice at a police station or in court. David joined the LSC in 1998 and has responsibility for managing Legal Aid contracts with the largest providers across the Eastern Region.
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