Former Portsmouth police commander Jason Kenny appointed to Hampshire crime commissioner chief executive role by Donna Jones

Former Portsmouth district commander Jason Kenny was nominated by commissioner Donna Jones for the role after he worked at her office as senior police liaison officer.

The pair previously worked together on issue linked to rough sleeping while Ms Jones was leader of Portsmouth City Council and the former superintendent led city officers in 2017-2018.

Mr Kenny is the latest person handed a top job at the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire.

A spokeswoman said Mr Kenny, who was working in the office as liaison officer until his appointment, was appointed in an ‘open recruitment process’ and that the job was advertised.

Ms Jones appointed her former council deputy Luke Stubbs to the role of deputy crime commissioner with a £65,025 taxpayer-funded salary.

Ms Jones said: ‘Having worked with Jason in the past I am confident he is able to support me in the work I am undertaking.

‘He has dedicated the last 30 years to policing and criminal justice whilst demonstrating he is able to work collaboratively with public sector partners to achieve better outcomes for local communities.

‘His operational policing knowledge and expertise will support the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner as we work with the constabulary and partners to achieve the vision of Hampshire and Isle of Wight being two of the safest counties in the country.’

Mr Kenny is a former trustee on Gosport Citizens Advice, and was previously organisation performance and review manager at Hampshire Constabulary.

He has 30 years of experience in policing, including having served as Gosport and Fareham district commander for three years.

His appointment was confirmed at a meeting of members of the Hampshire Police and Crime Panel on Monday.

Mr Kenny said: ‘This is a new challenge and one I am totally committed to.

‘My background and experience means I can hit the ground running, providing the Commissioner with vital oversight of police services on behalf of the public.

‘Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are areas that need greater policing focus.

‘Through the OPCC I will be supporting the Commissioner to improve the safety for all members of the public. I am committed to driving up standards and finding efficiencies allowing us to spend more money on preventing crime happening in the first place.’

Some £10,000 has been saved by reducing the CEO’s salary, the OPCC said.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

We’ve slashed the cost of digital subscriptions to our website by 50 per cent for a limited time.

You can now subscribe here for unlimited access to our online coverage, including Pompey, for less than 13p a day.