Police staff chief officer joins College board

The College of Policing is delighted announce that a career member of police staff and the NPCC lead on neurodiversity has recently joined the College Board as a non-executive director.

Alexis Poole, Assistant Chief Officer with Devon and Cornwall Police and the neurodiversity lead for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), became a board member at the beginning of March, replacing Robin Wilkinson, chief of corporate services at the Metropolitan Police Service, who left at the end of his tenure.

Alexis is career member of police staff who joined the Metropolitan Police Service as an intelligence analyst in 1999 having completed a law degree. While at the Met she gained a Masters degree in diversity and worked on a knowledge sharing programme with the South African police.

Seeking an opportunity to develop her research skills she joined the police research group at the Home Office in 2003 as a senior research officer. She worked on many projects including the evaluation of the national reassurance policing project alongside colleagues who went on to form the College of Policing knowledge, research and practice team.

In 2005 she joined Devon and Cornwall Police as a principal intelligence analyst and was later appointed as the force’s head of performance and analysis, leading on performance management, public, victim and staff consultation, planning and risk management. Alexis sat on the NPCC performance management coordinating committee and was the NPCC representative for demand on the Home Office technical reference group for the Funding Formula Review.

In 2018 she completed the College’s strategic command course (SCC) and in December 2019 Alexis took up her current post on the Devon and Cornwall chief officer team. She leads on all workforce areas including recruitment, development, HR operations, organisational development, inclusion and wellbeing. She continues to be engaged in evidence-based, policing academic collaborations.   

I have a real commitment to the role of the College and am delighted to have joined the board at what is a very challenging but exciting time for policing.

I have worked in policing for more than 20 years and learnt so much from many wonderful colleagues. I’m passionate about using my experience and perspectives to shape the College’s important work and support its relevance to the whole police family.

The current opportunities and challenges facing policing mean there has been no greater time for the College’s products and services to be instrumental in how we take policing forward for the next 20 years and beyond.

Alexis Poole, Assistant Chief Officer, Devon and Cornwall Police

Bernie O’Reilly, interim CEO of the College of Policing, said: 'I am so pleased that Alexis has joined the College board, I know that her experience and expertise as a champion for evidence-based policing will prove invaluable as we continue to build our connection to the service at this challenging time.'