SOUTH Yorkshire Police has appointed its first ever female chief officer, Jo Byrne, a “highly experienced” assistant chief constable from West Midlands Police.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire had been one of 17 forces in England and Wales without any women among its chief officer ranks. The force had never had a female officer in an ACPO role.<\/p>\n
Mrs Byrne has been selected as assistant chief after 27 years at West Midlands. She\u00a0is an experienced strategic firearms commander, a role she held throughout the disorder in Birmingham in August 2011, and has been a commander in the areas of Smethwick and North Walsall.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire’s Chief Constable David Crompton said he was \u201cdelighted\u201d that Mrs Byrne was joining the force. \u201cShe is a hugely capable and highly experienced officer whose dynamism, drive and creativity will be of great benefit to the people of South Yorkshire,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mrs Byrne has said she is “thrilled and excited” to have been selected and is looking forward to working with the “many different communities in South Yorkshire”. She added: “I\u2019ve been made very welcome and already feel part of the policing family.”<\/p>\n
Mrs Byrne\u00a0is a member of ACPO\u2019s Ethics Portfolio and\u00a0deputy senior responsible officer for the Joint Emergency Service Interoperability Programme (JESIP), which improves the way emergency services work together when responding to major or complex incidents.<\/p>\n
Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Tracey Cheetham said Mrs Byrne\u2019s appointment would bring significant value to the force. She added: \u201cJo\u2019s experience, particularly in terms of public engagement and her track record in delivering services that are truly customer focused, will be of great benefit to all our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
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