Julie Spence is Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire Constabulary, and has a long and distinguished career within the police service. She replaces Vivien Hepworth, who stepped down as a public member of the PCC to lead the independent review into the PCC's governance.
Baroness Buscombe said: "I am delighted that Julie Spence is joining the PCC as a public member. Her enormous experience in the police service will bring an important new perspective to the Board which I know we will value. In addition, her substantial track record in public life will make her a tremendous asset to us".
Julie Spence said: "Throughout my career in the police service, I have seen first-hand what it is like for ordinary members of the public who find themselves caught up in the media spotlight, or subject to media scrutiny. I have been impressed by the proactive work that the PCC does with vulnerable people, and am looking forward to contributing to the work of the PCC as it continues to make rulings which balance rights and freedoms with wider responsibilities".
Public (or ‘lay') Commissioners are appointed by the independent Appointments Commission, following public advertisement and interview.
There are seventeen members of the Commission. Ten members - including the Chairman - are lay Commissioners who have no connection to the industry, while seven are drawn from among the ranks of senior editors in the national and regional press, and from periodicals.
Julie Spence is also President of the British Association for Women in Policing (BAWP); a member of the Association of Chief Police Officers' Cabinet; and is on the Board of the International Advisory Board for Cambridge University Institute of Criminology. She began her police career with Avon and Somerset Constabulary in 1978.
