Question about community involvement

Q) Over the years, apart from either political or paid work, what has been your involvement in the community? 

A) I am a School Governor, member of the Bude Canal Marshes and Valley, Former honorary vice-president of Bude Cricket Club, I am part of a local natural Beekeeper group (I have Bees) and help with beach cleaning days organised by Surfers Against Sewage.

As the Police and Crime Commissioner, I will involve as many people and groups in making decisions, setting priorities, budgets and targets as possible. I will provide the important link between Police and Community.

Being a business woman

I have owned my own business for a number of years and worked seven days a week 9am till 10pm. The bit I loved the most was my customers and making deliveries to elderly ladies. 

A fresh pair of eyes

While campaigning some people have said to me, "it is good that you bring a fresh pair of eyes to this new role, but don't you need to be a policeman to be the Commissioner?"

It is important that everyone understands that the Chief Constable, who has long experience & detailed knowledge of policing, heads the police service and will be in charge of operational delivery. 
The Police and Crime Commissioner is not just another police man, but someone who should see things from a different perspective, represent people and ask difficult questions. Having not been in the police service I would enter this role with no baggage and no preconceived ideas.

A little more about me

I talk to anybody and everybody and try to make myself very approachable. For me, people are the key and I am eager to listen and learn about their lives. Every action creates a reaction and I am always asking the “why?” question.

Question everything!

My father is a professor in Bio-chemistry , he educated me to question things and have an inquisitive mind. He taught us to use lateral thinking, solving problem through an indirect and creative approach, and that mind sets can hinder the effectiveness and speed of problem solving. 

Tough enough for the role?

I am very determined. At interview for my last four jobs I was always asked: “but are you tough? You will have to work with and manage people that are far older then you and have been doing their jobs for years. They might not like you telling them what to do.” I always replied yes, obviously, I am tough if I need to be, but my experience has shown that a woman’s gentle touch works far better in most situations then an aggressive behaviour. Falling that, I do use the tough approach. I stuck to this plan when and not only did I got the jobs I excelled within the companies - so it works.

Family continued

Thank you to those of you who have given me positive feedback about putting personal information on my blog. I want to be as open with everyone as possible, so here is some more about by family background:

Education and work in Brief

At university, I became involved with politics as a member of a liberal party and took part in the running of the university students union. I graduated a Bachelor in Business Studies in 1992 and took on a position at IBM as a trainee.

A little about my family

When you are involved in politics it is very easy to talk about policies, but I wanted you to know a little bit more about me as a person, so here goes. Here is a little about my family: