Police Arboretum Memorial Trust

Gavin was elected to the Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) in 2022 and took up the role in April 2023, having served in Surrey Police from Constable to Chief Constable.

As Chair of NPCC Gavin is responsible for ensuring strong co-ordination and collaboration across UK Policing, including British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. Policing practices across the UK are held together by strong principles and values, which are rooted in policing by consent. Working together with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, the College of Policing, His Majesty’s Inspectorate, the National Crime Agency, and many other public and voluntary bodies, Gavin ensures NPCC contributes to a shared vision of achieving the most trusted and engaged policing service in the world, by making communities safer and stronger.

Gavin is the Senior Responsible Officer for the national Police Race Action Plan. He is a Director of BlueLight Commercial and Police Digital Services. He chairs the Boards of the Criminal Records Office, and Police Crime Prevention Initiatives. He is a trustee of the charity Police Care UK, and chairs the Board of Trustees for Police Arboretum Memorial Trust. He is a patron of the Police Mutual Assurance Society.
In his former role as Chief Constable of Surrey, Gavin was chair of the NPCC Finance Coordination Committee and NPCC Communications Advisory Group. Prior to that he was NPCC lead for Neighbourhood Policing and chaired the committee to produce the College of Policing Guidelines on Modernising Neighbourhood Policing.

Born and bred in Hartlepool on the North East coast, Gavin studied engineering and management studies at the University of Cambridge and worked for GEC Marconi Research as a sponsored student. Upon graduation he joined Cambridgeshire Constabulary, then transferred to Surrey Police in 1996. He worked across a wide variety of roles including Head of Serious & Organised Crime, Professional Standards, and often returned to his passion of Neighbourhood Policing.

Ben Adams was elected as Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime in 2021 and re-elected in 2024.

He is accountable for the performance of Staffordshire’s Police and Fire & Rescue services. He is also responsible for developing local plans that put Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent’s safety priorities first, while ensuring the service’s budget is spent wisely on the tools, training and support that the professional Police officers, Fire-fighters and staff need to keep people safe.

Ben has been working for communities across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent since 2007, as district councillor in Lichfield, a county councillor in Tamworth and as a parliamentary candidate for Stoke-on-Trent North & Kidsgrove in the 2015 and 2017 general elections.

Grace leads the Public Safety business for Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the United Kingdom’s Public Sector Sales Organisation. She was chief of staff to the UK Public Sector director, providing strategic advice and guidance.

Prior to joining AWS, Grace worked in the Metropolitan Police Service for 15 years. From front line to specialist posts, Grace helps mission-driven organisations unlock innovation to improve day to day challenges for public safety customers, and ultimately the citizens they serve.

Richard Critchley served with West Yorkshire Police for 33 years. For the last 16 years of his police service, Richard was elected as a full-time Federation official, serving as Branch Secretary for 10 years.

Following retirement, Richard joined the National Association of Retired Police Officers (NARPO), as Branch Secretary and former national Vice President. In 2021, Richard was elected as national President and Chairman.

Richard has spent many years promoting and supporting the welfare of serving and retired police officers, and is an ardent supporter of the need to recognise the service and sacrifice of former colleagues.

Martin Hewitt is the former Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). He was appointed in April 2019. He began his policing career with Kent Police in 1993 and transferred to the Metropolitan Police Service in 2005.

As an Assistant Commissioner for five years, Martin led frontline and local policing, specialist crime and professional standards.

He led the national police response to adult sexual offences and kidnap between 2014 and 2019 and served as a Vice-Chair for the NPCC from 2015 before taking on the chairmanship.

Martin was awarded a QPM in 2014 and appointed a CBE in the New Year Honours of 2024 for services to policing.

Martin Jelley is the former Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police. Following his retirement from policing he was appointed as Commissioner for Standards in the House of Lords.

Martin worked in policing for over 33 years and as well as Warwickshire, has served in three other forces. He also spent a period seconded to the Department for International Development to help improve policing in Malawi.

He was the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on vetting, professional and ethical standards and in 2016 was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal.

John Perry is the Assistant Secretary of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland and serves on the organisation’s Central Committee. He has extensive experience of policing across Northern Ireland and joined the police service in 1993, serving in a variety of operational and frontline roles throughout his career.

John has developed significant expertise in roads policing, alongside specialist interests in equality, training, and police regulations.

In addition to his representative work within the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, John also serves as a trustee of the RUC GC–PSNI Benevolent Fund Charity, supporting the wellbeing of serving and former officers and their families.

John’s photo is not shown on this site for security reasons.

James Slessor is a Managing Director and leads Accenture’s Global Public Safety practice focusing on policing, intelligence, justice, prisons and rehabilitation. He brings more than 15 years industry experience to his role supporting policing, justice and public safety organisations to improve operational performance and achieve greater efficiency.

James has worked extensively across the UK Criminal Justice system with organisations including the Metropolitan Police Service, the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, and a number of public safety agencies. He also advises on several of Accenture’s public safety engagements across Europe, Middle East, South Africa, the US and Asia Pacific. A recognised expert in his field, James has written extensively in leading industry publications on a range of policing topics including the use of social media and police information management.

Debbie Tedds is the former Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police. Debbie has spent 35 in policing and has worked in variety of uniform and investigations departments across Warwickshire at all ranks including response policing, proactive and reactive crime investigation, child abuse, drugs unit, public order, firearms, search, crisis and hostage negotiation.

She was the previous NPCC lead for vetting and for firearms licensing and explosives.

Martyn Underhill was a Police Officer in both the Metropolitan Police and Sussex Police from 1979 to 2009. He retired as a Detective Chief Inspector, having been a Senior Investigating Officer or Deputy Senior Investigating Officer in various murder enquiries, including the abduction and murder of Sarah Payne. During his service he gained a Diploma in Policing at Sussex University and a master’s degree in criminology at Portsmouth University as well as a PGCE.

On retirement, he was elected as Dorset’s Police and Crime Commissioner from 2011 to 2021, after which, he stood down and joined Bournemouth University as a Senior Lecturer.

Martyn now works in the Health and Social Sciences Faculty, and is joint Programme Lead of the BA in Criminology and Law Programme, and Unit lead of the Human Trafficking and Criminality Unit.

David Wilbraham MBE is Chair of Trustees for the Police Remembrance Trust, and a member of the Police Covenant Oversight Board. He is deputy coordinator of National Police Memorial Day held each September.

David is engaged with Police Charities UK and is a Trustee of the Police Arboretum Memorial Trust.

He served as a police officer with Merseyside Police, leaving to get ordained into the Anglican Church in 1988. From 1993 he was Force Welfare Officer at Surrey Police and chaired the Police Welfare Officers’ Association. In 2007, he was appointed as full time Force Chaplain with Thames Valley Police. In 2009, he was elected to lead the National Association of Chaplains to the Police [NACP], fulfilling both roles alongside being National Police Chaplain. From 2015, he was an Honorary Canon at Christ Church, Oxford. Appointed in 2018, he was the first full time National Police Chaplain. David retired as National Police Chaplain in 2023 but maintains an active involvement in policing. He was awarded the MBE in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List for services to policing.

His interests include sailing, motorcycling and politics as well as his dogs ‘Badger’ and ‘Fidget’ and thinks a good prayer for anyone is ‘Dear Lord, help me to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am!‘

With 30 years police experience, Giles York was Chief Constable of Sussex Police from 2014 to 2020. As well as his operational responsibilities, Giles was the vice-chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council and led significant national programmes focusing on digital transformation and workforce development. He was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal (QPM) for distinguished service and is a Deputy Lieutenant for East Sussex. He volunteers in several ways including being County President for St John Ambulance in Sussex.

Giles was appointed Chair of the Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust in June 2023 after being a Non-Executive Director of the Trust from October 2021 to May 2023.