Board Members
Christopher Sims (Chairman of the Board)
Chief Constable, Staffordshire Police (link)
As Chief Constable he is responsible for the delivery of effective policing to all the communities of Staffordshire whom we serve. His aim is to ensure that everyone who either resides, works or travels through Staffordshire feels safe and confident to do so. The role of the Police is to investigate reports of crime received and to gather all available evidence in order to identify those individuals responsible and through the preparation of a quality written file to enable successful prosecutions before our courts. As the Chair of the Criminal Justice Board Christopher has the opportunity to enhance and improve performance by working closely with colleagues from the other agencies who are dedicated to delivering swift but fair justice.
Harry Ireland
Chief Crown Prosecutor, CPS Staffordshire (link)
Harry was appointed to the role in April 1999. He qualified as a Solicitor in 1980, working in private practice in Manchester, dealing mainly in crime and matrimonial work. In 1981 he joined the County Prosecuting Solicitors Department for South Yorkshire. Whilst there he transferred to CPS upon its creation in April 1986. In 1990 he became the Branch Crown Prosecutor for Wiltshire where he remained until his appointment to his current post.
Peter Hammersley
Area Director, West Mercia, Staffordshire & the Black Country (link)
For the past 2½ years, Peter has been the Area Director for HMCS in the Thames Valley area, within the South East Region. Thames Valley was the largest HMCS area outside of the five metropolitan areas of the country. During this time Peter made a number of significant improvements in service delivery and performance. In particular, the substantial improvement in fines collection performance and the integration of family courts was achieved while still ensuring that the major budget and performance challenges were achieved.
Prior to joining HMCS in 2004, Peter was a Chief Executive of a Primary Care Trust in Staffordshire for 5 years. He has also held senior management positions within other major national and international companies as an Operational Director. Peter lives in Staffordshire, has two grown up daughters, is divorced and his main office will be in Stafford. His new area consists of the Black Country, Staffordshire and West Mercia. As a member of the Local Criminal Justice Board in Staffordshire, Peter has the lead for the introduction during 2007/08 of the streamlining of the Magistrates’ Courtactivities that will substantially reduce the lead time for trial cases being completed in court.
Bridie Oakes-Richards
Rob Mandley
Chief Officer, Staffordshire Probation Area (link)
Rob heads up the Staffordshire Probation Area, which is part of the National Probation Service which, along with HM Prison Service, is now part of the new National Offender Management Service (NOMS). The Area covers Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire county. Through working with the LCJB and other partner community agencies, our aims are to protect the public, to reduce re-offending, to ensure the proper punishment of offenders in the community, to ensure offenders' awareness of the effects of crime on victims and the public and to rehabilitate offenders. He is a member of the Staffordshire Probation Board, the chair and 14 members of which have been appointed by the Secretary of State. The Board oversees the employment of some 500 staff and a budget of £15 million.
Sharon Moore
Head of Youth Offending Services, Staffordshire (link)
Sharon Moore is Head of Staffordshire Youth Offending Service and has been in post since April 2005. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 established the principal aim of the Youth Justice System as the prevention of crime amongst children and young people and placed a responsibility upon local authorities to develop multi-agency teams with the specific purpose of achieving this aim.
Staffordshire Youth Offending Service comprises of 3 Youth Offending Teams, an Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Team which focuses upon the most serious young offenders, and the Intensive Fostering Team, which is part of a national pilot, and is designed to offer a robust alternative to a custodial sentence for those convicted of serious crimes. The Service has 130 employees, as well as using sessional staff and volunteers from the community, and has an annual budget of £4.5 million. The mission statement for Staffordshire Youth Offending Service is: To enable young people to make a positive contribution to a safer Staffordshire.
The Service is made up of staff seconded from key partner agencies including Staffordshire County Council's Children and Lifelong Learning Service, Staffordshire Police, Staffordshire Probation Service and Health. The Service sits within the responsibilities of the Chief Executive of Staffordshire County Council who chairs the Chief Officers' Group for the Service. This Group comprises of the most senior representatives of the partner agencies including the Chief Constable of Staffordshire, the Chief Probation Officer, the Area Director of HM Courts Service, the Chief Executive of East Staffordshire Primary Care Trust, the Chief Executive of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and the Corporate Director of Children and Lifelong Learning for Staffordshire County Council.
Sharon is a qualified social worker and holds a Masters Degree in Social Work. Since qualifying in 1987 she has gained experience of the adult and youth justice systems. She has worked for a variety of agencies including the Probation Service, Social Services and the voluntary sector where she set up teams working in Young Offender Institutions and Local Authority Secure Children's Homes. Sharon lives in Staffordshire and has a daughter and two step-sons.
John Tate
Director of Stoke on Trent Youth Offending Services (link)
John is Lead Board Member for Victims and Witnesses. He is the Head of Youth Offending Services for the City of Stoke-on-Trent and is responsible for leading a range of services to children and young people aged 8 - 17 years who offend or are at risk of offending, parents and victims of youth crime. The Statutory Aim of the Services is to "prevent offending by children and young people" and membership of the Board allows the particular needs of the city to be represented and integrates offending by young people within the Criminal Justice System as a whole. Young people commit crime; but in many cases they are also victims and witnesses of crime.
Over the last 4 years the Youth Offending Services have developed restorative service, to bring together young people, parents, victims and members of the community to "restore" the damage caused by offending, increasing the level of public confidence in the System. In this way, the City of Stoke-on-Trent Youth Offending Services contributes to the Board's main aims, but allows a direct link to other Services for children and young people, the Crime Reduction and Drug Action Team Partnership and other key partners in the City.
Martine Redpath
Communications & Marketing Manager
Martine started her career in the human resource environment in roles ranging from executive, business partner, manager/superviser of HR caseworkers and latterly as consultant. This includes seven years experience in learning and development as manager, project manager and tutor/trainer and nine years experience in communications and marketing management within large blue-chip organisations in the private sector and latterly in the public sector. Martine’s remit with Staffordshire Criminal Justice is to develop, implement and manage a communication strategy and plan that supports the board’s objectives with particular reference to increasing public confidence in the criminal justice system in Staffordshire. Martine has two young boys, and when she has spare time(!) she enjoys yoga, tennis, cycling, walking and art & design.
Neville Trumper
Performance Manager
Neville has over 25 years experience working within the courts. His extensive career has included roles ranging from criminal listing officer at Birmingham and Wolverhampton Crown Courts, Court Manager and deputy Court Manager at Wolverhampton, Stoke and Shrewsbury, to Judicial Manager handling judicial appointments and itineraries across the Midlands. Whilst in the Regional Office for the Courts Service he also worked with the 5 Area Criminal Justice Liaison Committees, which were the precursors to the LCJBs. The latter part of his career saw him as Finance Manager for the Midlands where he was responsible for a budget of £46 million. Following the merger of the administrations for Magistrates’ Courts, Crown & County Courts, he became Finance & Resources Manager for HMCS in Staffordshire. Neville’s remit with Staffordshire Criminal Justice Board is to develop, plan and utilise the performance review system supporting the achievement of joint criminal justice objectives, performance targets and system delivery.
Jane Gould
Beacon Project Manager
Jane started her career as a Medical Microbiologist at Russell’s Hall Hospital in Dudley, after gaining a BSC (hons) in Microbiology & Microbial Technology from Warwick University. In 1995 Jane became a Scenes of Crime Officer with Staffordshire Police in Stoke on Trent, moving to a Police Partnerships Co-ordinator role for Cannock Chase District in November 2000 where she was been heavily involved in the formation and development of the five Community Action Teams across the District. Jane’s remit with Staffordshire Criminal Justice Board is to develop, plan and utilise the performance review system supporting the achievement of joint criminal justice objectives and performance targets. Jane has three young boys, and when she has spare time(!) she enjoys water sports, photography, and walking.
