North Yorkshire Police has appointed the first voluntary Chief Officer for Citizens in Policing.
Former Ministry of Justice Director and Probation Trust chief, Mike Maiden, has been appointed as overall strategic lead for North Yorkshire Police’s Citizens in Policing programme which includes Police Support Volunteers, the Special Constabulary, the force’s Chaplaincy and the force’s partnership work with volunteer organisations such as search and rescue teams, Neighbourhood Watch, Victim Support and Community Speed Watch.
This is the first voluntary position of its kind for North Yorkshire Police and is believed to be the first in the country.
Mr Maiden will be a member of the Chief Officer team at North Yorkshire Police which includes the Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable and Assistant Chief Constables.
Mr Maiden joins the force with an extensive background in the criminal justice service, being a former Chief Executive of Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Trust – the second largest in the country – and Deputy Director at the Ministry of Justice, leading the recent Transforming Rehabilitation programme. He became a self-employed, organisational change management consultant in December 2013.
Originally from Cumbria, Mr Maiden spent the early years of his married life in the Bradford area with North Yorkshire as a favourite area for recreation. After living most of his life in Cumbria Mr Maiden has now settled in the Gargrave area.
He joined North Yorkshire Police in April and is looking forward to using his extensive knowledge of criminal justice to the benefit of North Yorkshire’s communities.
Mr Maiden said: As a probation employee I worked closely with the police for many years. This voluntary position fascinated me and I thought it would give me a huge opportunity to contribute to the communities of North Yorkshire, using my knowledge, skills and experience to the best advantage.
Although I have lived mostly in Cumbria, North Yorkshire has a place in my heart and I and very pleased to now be living in, and contributing to keeping its communities safe.
Chief Constable Dave Jones, added: I would like to welcome Mike to our Chief Officer Team and thank him for contributing his time freely to developing our Citizens in Policing programme. He will be a real asset to our team, to North Yorkshire Police and to the communities of North Yorkshire.
North Yorkshire Police has a strong history of volunteering. It plays a vital role in policing, whether it’s directly for the police or for one of the many organisations who work in partnership with us. People come from a wide variety of backgrounds and life experiences to give their own time freely, and for this we are extremely grateful.
