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25 August 2026
Record of actions and decisions
Title: Chief Officer's Management Board - Strategic
Date: Tuesday 25 August 2026 at 1pm
Venue: Clift Room, Sutton Road HQ
Attendees
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| CC Tim Smith | Chief Constable |
| A/DCC Nigel Brookes | Local Policing Directorate |
| T/ACC Tracey Quiller | Central Operations Directorate |
| T/ACC Simon Thompson | Crime Directorate |
| ACC Simon Wilson | Serious Crime Directorate |
| PSE Becky Humphreys | Rep. Director of HR & L&D |
| ACO Claire Medhurst | Director of Support Services Directorate |
| ACO Gavin McKinnon | Director of Corporate Communications |
| PSE Jonathan Castle | Chief Finance Officer |
| PSE Sonya Gransden | Chief of Staff |
| PSE Catherine Hughes (minutes) | Executive Assistant to CC |
| PSE Lisa Pearce (in attendance) | Chief Legal Officer |
Apologies
- DCC Peter Ayling
- ACO Richard Leicester
1. Approval of the record from Tuesday 28 July 2026
The record of the previous meeting was approved.
2. Matters arising/action updates
15/26 – the update was noted and the item was discharged.
3. FCIR resourcing
This item was held in a closed session and no record was taken.
4. Development pathway for aspiring strategic firearms commanders (SFCs)
T/ACC Quiller presented the paper as previously shared seeking agreement to remove the current Kent Police requirement for all aspiring SFCs to complete the Initial Tactical Firearms Commander and Cadre Tactical Firearms Commander courses and instead adopt the College of Policing SFC prerequisites and entry routes.
Chief Officers agreed to:
- remove the blanket requirement in Kent Police for aspiring SFC to complete the initial then cadre Tactical Firearms Commander Courses
- use only the College of Policing Strategic Firearms Commander (SFC) Course Pre-requisites and entry routes
This process will be facilitated and managed by Command Training, to ensure consistency of content and experience.
5. Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPO)
T/ACC Thompson presented the paper as previously shared seeking agreement for the proposed Kent Police operating model, authorisation framework and governance arrangements for the implementation of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) and Domestic Abuse Protection Notices (DAPNs).
Chief Officers discussed the paper, and the overarching decision was to proceed with the proposed operating model, but several recommendations were to remain provisional until the demand, communications, tasking, transition and stakeholder actions were addressed. Once these are addressed, Chief Officers agreed to:
- endorse the proposed DAPO operating model.
- approve inspector-level authority for DAPN and police-led DAPO applications, noting the requirement for local Inspector training and operational guidance.
- approve the principle that stand-alone DAPOs are managed and progressed through Legal Services, consistent with SPO and SHPO processes.
- note that bolt-on DAPOs may arise through existing court proceedings and will require a notification, recording and management process.
- approve central ownership, risk assessment, tasking and tracking of all DAPOs through POST.
- approve recording of all DAPOs on Athena through a Public Protection Management Plan framework, with the requirement built into RMS Gen2.
- approve a centrally governed, locally delivered enforcement and compliance model.
- approve the tasking of Neighbourhood Policing Teams with proactive management activity for DAPO subjects, including local visibility, intelligence development, compliance checks and problem-solving activity, with POST retaining governance and assurance.
- approve Kent Police ceasing routine use of DVPNs and DVPOs from the DAPO launch date and adopting DAPNs and DAPOs as the default domestic abuse protective order, notwithstanding the availability of the national six-month transition period.
- note the unresolved national issue regarding breach of notification requirements and the potential impact on CPS charging routes and investigative demand.
The chief constable advised he will brief the commissioner at their next meeting.
6. Financial performance management update - P4
PSE Castle presented the paper as previously shared providing a high-level forecast update at period 4 for the current financial year. There is very little change from the last period with the summary headline figures of a (£9.9m) underspend position on service expenditure budgets, and a £1.3m overspend on capital expenditure.
The paper was noted and there were no decisions or actions.
7a. PSEs: public holidays - weekends
PSE Humphreys presented the paper as previously shared setting out a proposal from UNISON to treat festive substitute public holidays that fall on weekends with full public holiday provisions for police staff, aligning arrangements more closely with police officers.
Chief Officers did not agree to support the proposal, and the chief constable will communicate the decision to UNISON.
7b. PSEs: public holidays - time accounting
PSE Humphreys presented the paper as previously shared setting out a proposal from UNISON to simplify public holiday time accounting for Police Staff Employees (PSEs) by removing public holiday owing adjustments where an employee is scheduled to work on a public holiday but is not required to attend.
Chief Officers did not agree to support the proposal. HR will work with UNISON to identify practical ways to support staff who struggle to manage the existing public-holiday adjustment process, without changing the current policy. The chief constable will communicate the decision to UNISON.
6. Any other business
There was no further business for the open session.
CLOSED SESSION - no record taken
Date of next meeting
Tuesday 22 September 2026, 1pm, Clift Room.