POLICE Scotland will be led by a woman for the first time.
Joanna (Jo) Farrell, the current chief constable of the Durham Constabulary, will assume the Chief Constable position later this year once Sir Iain Livingstone retires.
She will have responsibility for 23,000 officers and staff in what is the UK’s second largest police force.
Justice Secretary Angela Constance made the news on Wednesday (14) after Sir Iain Livingstone’s announcement that he would be retiring this summer.
The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) appointed her after a six-week examination procedure, and she will start her new job with a salary of more than £232,000 annually.
Chief Constable Farrell said: “This really is a day of mixed emotions. I am immensely proud to have served as Chief Constable of Durham and equally proud of everything the force has achieved over that time.
“Over the last six years, I have worked with some extraordinarily talented and committed people, dedicated to keeping County Durham and Darlington safe, and it has been a very difficult decision to leave.
“But as Chief Constable of Police Scotland I have been offered a unique opportunity to take on one of the most exciting and challenging jobs in UK policing.”
Sir Livingstone welcomed her appointment, saying: “I congratulate Jo Farrell and look forward to working with her to ensure an effective handover that will maintain stability in Police Scotland.
“Leading our outstanding officers and staff as Scotland’s chief constable is an enormous privilege. I have great confidence Jo will continue to develop our service to protect and serve our fellow citizens.”
Farrell was described as “outstanding and highly experienced” by Martyn Evans, chair of the SPA and the selection committee that examined candidates for the position and predicted that she would “accelerate the culture change programmes” inside the unified force.
Born in the Wirral, Merseyside, Farrell joined the police in 1991 as a constable in Cambridge, spending five years in the city before promotion.
She later joined the Northumbria Police, and in 2016 she relocated to Durham. She was the first woman to hold that position when she was appointed head constable in the city in 2019.
During her tenure in charge, the police implemented a new strategy for handling rape suspects that attempted to scrutinise perpetrators more closely and identify repeat offenders.
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