The North Yorkshire, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe has said that she has selected Tim Forber as the preferred candidate for Chief Constable.
He will now be put forward as her preferred to North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel, this will take place on 11 January 2024.
Previously the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel asked PFCC, Zoe Metcalfe to delay recruitment, something that she rejected after less than 24-hours of consideration.
On the 2 May 2024, York and North Yorkshire will elect a Mayor, and part of their responsibility will be to take on the role of Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
Lisa Winward announced last year that she would leave the post of Chief Constable of North Yorkshire, from 31 March 2024, but has now left the role, taking 3-months of accrued days in leu. Elliot Foskett has now been promoted to Temporary Chief Constable.
The issue, and confusion for many, is why Zoe Metcalfe felt the need to push-on with recruitment, rather than leave it for the incoming Mayor to recruit their preferred candidate.
The Crime panel’s role will be to recommend to the commissioner whether to appoint or not to appoint the preferred candidate, based on the supporting information provided and the responses provided by the candidate at the confirmation hearing held in public on January 11. The panel does also have the power of veto in exceptional circumstances. Where a veto is used, the candidate cannot be appointed. The subsequent process would be that a reserve candidate would be put forward to the panel and the panel may only legally make a recommendation (not veto).
Once the panel has made its decision, it must provide a report to the commissioner with a recommendation to appoint or not to appoint (a recommendation not to appoint is not the same as the veto). The commissioner must “have regard to” the panel’s recommendation, but is legally able to either accept or reject the recommendation made and must notify the panel of her response. If the panel has recommended an appointment and the commissioner decides not to accept that recommendation and not appoint then these reasons would need to be carefully and clearly set out.
Tim has been selected as Commissioner Zoë’s preferred candidate following a recruitment process which involved a presentation to local internal and external stakeholders, a media exercise and culminated in a panel interview consisting of, the Chief Fire Officer, representative from His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Service, a Director from the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, an Independent panel member.
The process, which was carried out on Monday 11 December and Tuesday 12 December, also included candidates having to design a presentation based on the results of an online survey conducted by Commissioner Zoë. Using the Commissioner’s Website and the North Yorkshire Police intranet the survey generated 852 individual responses about the crime and community safety issues.
Tim Forber is currently the Deputy Chief Constable at South Yorkshire Police. He joined South Yorkshire Police as Assistant Chief Constable in December 2016 and was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in June 2021.
