The PCC’s Team

Polly Reed is the Chief Executive; her key responsibilities are as follows:

• to carry out the role of Head of Paid Service and ensure the office runs effectively;
• to act as the Monitoring Officer for the Police and Crime Commissioner
• to support and advise the Police and Crime Commissioner in delivering their Police and Crime Plan and legal duties and responsibilities.

This post is a statutory requirement by law.

Polly has been the Chief Executive of Warwickshire OPCC since January 2021. She previously worked for the OPCC for the West Midlands as Head of Business Services.  The majority of her working life has been spent in local government in management roles in Children Services and Education, within the West Midlands.  Polly is also part qualified with the Chartered Governance Institute and has experience as a school governor.

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Sara Ansell is the Treasurer; her key responsibilities are as follows:

• to be the principal adviser to the Commissioner on the preparation of financial strategies to achieve the Commissioner’s objectives.
• to work with the Chief Constable and the Force Head of Finance to ensure that the OPCC strategies are resourced and implemented in a timely and cost-effective way.
• to ensure that high standards of financial governance and control are maintained for all aspects of the Commissioners’ activities.
• to provide the Commissioner, Chief Executive, and OPCC staff with professional, financial, and business advice to support them to deliver the best possible service within the resources available.

This role is the Section 151 officer for the Police and Crime Commissioner and is also a statutory requirement by law.

Sara was appointed to the role in October 2019, having previously served as the OPCC’s Head of Finance.  She manages the budget for the PCC, and advises the Commissioner on all financial matters, working closely with the finance team at Warwickshire Police.  She is a qualified public sector accountant and a member of CIPFA.

As of October 2024, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire (OPCC) comprises a total of 16 staff, including the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner.  Two further positions are currently vacant and being recruited to.  There are currently 11 female members of staff and 5 male members of staff. No members of staff are from an ethnic minority.  The number of staff with disabilities is not centrally recorded.

Police and Crime Commissioner

The salary of the Police and Crime Commissioner is set by the Home Secretary, following advice from the Senior Salaries Review Board (SSRB).  In 2011, the SSRB made recommendations, accepted by the government, that the pay of PCCs should be between £65,000 and £100,000 and be broadly linked to the size and complexity of the respective police force.   In 2018, the Government announced that PCCs in all but the upper tiers of pay would receive a two percent increase. In 2022 the government decided to award to Commissioners the same £1,900 pay increase that applies to all ranks of police officers, with effect from 1 May 2022.

As Warwickshire is among the smallest police forces in England and Wales, this means that the Commissioner’s salary is set at £68,200 per annum.

Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner

The Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner works part time, four days per week. Her salary is £44,491 per annum.

Staff Salaries

All staff salaries are determined using the Warwickshire Police police staff pay grading, including that of the senior staff members, who are paid as follows as of June 2024:

• Polly Reed: Chief Executive of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner  – £81,570 per annum
• Sara Ansell: Chief Finance Officer – £83,316 per annum
• Calum Walmsley: Strategic Estates and Assets Manager – £70,335 per annum
• Claire Morris: Head of Business Services and Assurance – £60,687 per annum
• Richard Long: Head of Policy and Partnerships – £50,109 per annum
• Neil Tipton: Head of Media and Communications – £50,109 per annum.

In total, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has job roles at the following salary bandings (with effect from 1 September 2023):

Staff Grade	Salary Range (p/a)	Number of staff
C	£24, 921 – £27,351	1
D	£27,789 – £29,874	1
E	£30,783 – £35,982	1
F	£36,996 – £39,036	1
G	£40,005 – £45,546	7
H	£46,674 – £52,389	2
J	£58, 191 – £64,644	1
K	£66,018 – £73,371	1
L	£74,940 – £83,316	2

Salaries reflect the role profiles and are show as full time equivalents – some positions are part time and not all positions may currently be filled. Data correct as of June 2024.

Gender pay gap

The OPCC is not required to calculate or publish a gender pay gap report as it has fewer than 250 employees.

Criminal Justice partners in Warwickshire fund the Policy and Partnerships Officer for Criminal Justice and the Justice Centre Partnerships Liaison Officer within the OPCC.

The Commissioner also jointly funds with his counterparts across the West Midlands two additional members of staff, who work on the governance and oversight of policing matters which affect the region.  They spend a proportion of their week working on behalf of each Commissioner (Warwickshire, West Mercia, Staffordshire and West Midlands). They are not directly employed by the Warwickshire OPCC, instead being employed by the West Midlands OPCC.

• Ian McGibbon is the Regional Policy Manager and leads on the Regional Organised Crime Unit, criminality in prisons and strategic policing operations, including air support.
• Aleesha Tamber leads on counter terrorism, regional roads policing, regional criminal justice, disproportionality and the Emergency Services Mobile Communications programme.

A number of support services provided under the direction and control of the Chief Constable are made available to the Commissioner when required.  Such sharing of business support is a co-operative arrangement for the effective delivery of business support essential to the operation of both offices.  A Memorandum of Understanding sets out these services.

The OPCC also provides funding to Warwickshire County Council which employs and line manages staff in the Community Safety Team, who carry out work in accordance with the delivery of the Police and Crime Plan.  Funding is also provided to Warwickshire County Council for analyst capability to support the work of Community Safety Partnerships. Similarly, Stratford-on-Avon District Council receives funding to employ a Rural Crime Co-ordinator post for the south of the county (currently job-shared by two employees).