Chief Constable David Whatton
David Whatton became the Chief Constable of Cheshire
Constabulary on 1st December 2008. He holds the national portfolio
for rape and serious sexual offending on behalf of the Association
of Chief Police Officers.
Prior to joining Cheshire Police, Mr Whatton was the Deputy
Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police.
He joined GMP from the West Midlands Police on promotion to
Assistant Chief Constable in December 2002 as Assistant Chief
Constable Resources. In April 2003 he became ACC Crime
Operations.
He joined the West Midlands Police in April 1983 and served in a
variety of uniformed and detective posts, including as a Detective
Inspector on the Regional and National Crime Squad. In 1998 he was
promoted to the rank of Superintendent 'leap frogging' the rank of
Chief Inspector.
He has an M.Sc in Public Sector Management and a Postgraduate
Diploma in Criminology.
Mr Whatton is married and has three teenage children. In his
spare time he enjoys walking, climbing and spending time with his
family.
Deputy Chief Constable Graeme Gerrard QPM
Graeme Gerrard has been a police officer since 1975.
His police career has been varied and has included periods in
general policing, training and criminal investigation.
In July 1998 he was appointed to the post of Assistant Chief
Constable and became Cheshire’s Deputy Chief Constable in April
2005.
Graeme is the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) lead
for burglary and CCTV. He is chairman of the ACPO Burglary
Reduction Working Group and is a member of the ACPO Acquisitive
Crime Board. He has been chairman of the ACPO Video/CCTV Working
Group for over 10 years and is chairman of the Video Analysis User
Group. He was co-author of the National CCTV Strategy published in
October 2007 and chairs the National CCTV Strategy Programme Board.
In November 2009 he was asked to chair the Olympic CCTV Project
Board.
Graeme acts as police spokesman on matters relating to CCTV and
has published a number of articles on the subject. He regularly
speaks at conferences and gives advice to foreign governments and
police on how CCTV is used by the police in the UK. His overseas
visits have included Canada, USA, Morocco, Singapore, Brazil and
India.
A graduate of the FBI National Academy in Washington, USA with
an Honours Degree in Politics and Economics from Manchester
University and a Masters Degree in Applied Criminology from
Cambridge University, Graeme is married with two children. He was
awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for distinguished service to
policing in June 2009.
Assistant Chief Constable Janette McCormick
Janette joined Cheshire Constabulary on
August 2, 2010. She was previously a Chief Superintendent with
Greater Manchester Police and has wide experience of operational
policing and working with communities.
She joined Greater Manchester Police in 1989 having achieved a
degree at Nottingham University, and started her police career in
Salford and Manchester City Centre. Janette has been
responsible for a number of changes including centralisation of
communications, developing neighbourhood policing across Greater
Manchester and establishing their road policing department.
During her time with GMP, Janette planned the policing of large
scale events like the Commonwealth Games and Labour Party
Conference, and was Commander at Manchester United, travelling home
and abroad with the club.
Having policed areas of Manchester impacted by gangs and gun
crime, Janette is a firm believer in the role of community
advisory groups and individuals, and working with them to
identify solutions and achieve them.
Assistant Chief Constable Ruth Purdie
Ruth Purdie joined Cheshire Constabulary as Assistant Chief
Constable on 1st September 2011. Previously she was a Chief
Superintendent in North Wales.
Wrexham born Ruth worked for North Wales police for 32 years
having started her career as a police cadet.
She was the BCU commander of Eastern Division, covering the
counties of Wrexham and Flintshire, and latterly the head of
Operational Services, which included responsibility for air
support, firearms response, demand management and custody services.
Ruth is the first female officer from North Wales to be appointed
to a rank as senior as Assistant Chief Constable.
Throughout her service, Ruth has always had a keen interest in
the training and development of staff.
She is keen to ensure that she understands the challenges staff
face in their day-to-day roles, and how as a member of ACPO she can
support them with these.