A panel of experts and senior stakeholders from within and outside policing.
The police leadership commission is chaired by former Home Secretary Lord Blunkett, and former Policing Minister Lord Herbert of South Downs, and is steered by review commissioners. The commission includes leaders from policing, the private sector, academia and military experts who will review the impact of police reforms to date, the level of investment in leadership development, and the balance between national and local programmes.
Rt Hon Lord David Blunkett PC
David Blunkett was an MP for 28 years and served in multiple New Labour cabinets including as Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1997 to 2001), Home Secretary (2001 to 2004), and finally Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2005).
Lord Blunkett was appointed to the House of Lords in 2015. He is Professor of Politics and Practice at the University of Sheffield, Chairs the Board of the University of Law, is involved in a number of major charitable organisations, and has continued to advise on skills and training for major infrastructure programmes.
The Rt Hon Lord Herbert of South Downs CBE PC
Nick Herbert was a Conservative MP for nearly 15 years and served as Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice from 2010 to 2012 where he led a major programme of policing reform.
Lord Herbert of South Downs has been Chair of the College of Policing since 2021, where he and its Chief Executive, Sir Andy Marsh QPM, have refocused the College on leadership, standards and performance. He became a member of the House of Lords in 2020.
Temporary Chief Constable Maggie Blyth KPM
Maggie has worked in the criminal justice service for over 36 years, and has specialist expertise in public protection, from the front line through to senior leadership.
In the early 1990s, Maggie worked across London and Oxford for the probation service, before setting up the first youth offending service (YOT) in Oxfordshire in 1998. She then became a senior adviser to the newly formed Youth Justice Board, with oversight of practice and performance of all YOTs across the UK.
Between 2005 and 2016 Maggie had oversight of local child protection arrangements as an independent chair, and she also held a ministerial appointment as a Member of the Parole Board.
In 2016, Maggie joined policing as a warranted officer, taking up a district commander role with responsibility for Portsmouth city. After completing the National Police Strategic Command Course in 2019, she transferred as Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) for Local Policing to Wiltshire, returning as ACC to Hampshire.
In 2021, Maggie was appointed to lead the national policing response to violence against women and girls (VAWG), culminating in the establishment of the first National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection, handing over the VAWG portfolio in June 2025. She continues to chair the NPCC Violence and Public Protection Board as part of the Crime Coordinating Committee.
Maggie was Deputy Chief Constable at the College of Policing between 2023 and 2024, responsible as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of all aspects of the internal College business, as well as supporting police forces with leadership, standards and performance.
In October 2024, Maggie became the temporary Chief Constable for Gloucestershire Constabulary.
William Bratton CBE
William J. Bratton is a respected and trusted expert in risk and security issues. During his 46-year career in law enforcement, he instituted progressive change and dramatic drops in crime while leading six police departments, including seven years as Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department and two non-consecutive terms as the Police Commissioner of New York City.
As Chief of the New York City Transit Police, the Boston Police Commissioner, and in his first term as the Commissioner of New York City Police, Commissioner Bratton revitalised morale and cut crime in all three roles, achieving the largest crime declines in New York City’s history.
Additionally, Commissioner Bratton was the Police Chief in Los Angeles, a city known for its entrenched gang culture and youth violence. He brought crime to historically low levels, greatly improved race relations, and reached out to young people with a range of innovative police programmes.
Commissioner Bratton also implemented Neighbourhood Policing and Precision Policing – new philosophies that drove crime down to historic lows. He also created the strategic response group, and the critical response command unit, comprising of hundreds of highly trained officers equipped to respond to terror threats and active shooter incidents.
Commissioner Bratton formerly served as the Co-Chair for the Secretary of Homeland Security’s Advisory Council.
Now, Commissioner Bratton is the Executive Chairman of Teneo Risk, where he advises clients on risk identification, prevention and response.
Peter Cheese
Peter is the CEO of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). He is also Chair of Engage for Success, and sits on the Board of the College of Policing. He sits on many forums linked to wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, routes in to work and skills, flexible working and corporate governance.
Peter writes and speaks widely on the development of HR, the future of work, and the key issues of leadership, culture and organisation, people and skills. His book ‘The New World of Work’ explores the many factors shaping work, workplaces, workforces and our working lives, and the principles around which we can build a future that is good for people, for business and for societies.
Prior to joining the CIPD in 2012, Peter was Chair of the Institute of Leadership and Management, an Executive Fellow at London Business School, and held a number of Board level roles. He had a long career in consulting at Accenture working with organisations around the world.
Peter is a Fellow of the CIPD, a Fellow of AHRI (the Australian HR Institute), the Royal Society of Arts, and the Academy of Social Sciences. He’s also a Companion of the Institute of Leadership and Management, the Chartered Management Institute, and the British Academy of Management.
He holds honorary doctorates from Bath University, Kingston University and Birmingham City University, and is a visiting Professor at Aston University, and at Unitar University, Malaysia.
Major General Nick Cowley OBE
Major General Cowley joined the British Army in 2000 and has conducted tours of Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan before being wounded in 2013.
On recovery, Major General Cowley served as the Chief of Staff of 16 Air Assault Brigade before studying for a Master's Degree in Planning and Strategy. He then worked as the Military Assistant to the Chief of the General Staff before assuming command of 16 Air Assault Brigade in 2021. As a Brigadier, he was appointed Commander of the Combat Manoeuvre Centre.
In 2024, Major General Cowley was appointed as Commandant Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which has now merged with other training organisations to form Army Individual Training Command (AITC); an organisation which trains all new officers and soldiers across the Army. He is also the 2* advocate for the Army Multicultural Network.
Major General Cowley founded the charity, The Talent Tap, which helps underprivileged school leavers achieve their potential, and the not-for-profit, Future Forces, which aims to attract more talent and technology into defence and security.
Major General Cowley was awarded a QCVS in 2009, an MBE in 2015 and an OBE in 2019.
Emeritus Professor Jean Hartley
Jean Hartley is Emeritus Professor at the Open University. Previously, she was Professor of Public Leadership at the Open University and also the founding Academic Director of the University’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning.
At the University, Jean led 80 academics working in partnership with 24 UK police forces to create and use knowledge to improve policing for the public good.
Prior to this, Jean has held academic appointments at Warwick University Business School, University of Manchester, University of Sheffield and London University (Birkbeck College). She has a first degree in psychology and a PhD in organisational psychology.
Jean has held visiting appointments including at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and at the Australian and New Zealand School of Government. She was a Fellow of the UK’s Sunningdale Institute, attached to the then National School of Government which worked to improve the use of management knowledge by the civil service.
Jean’s research with the police includes leadership to tackle rural crime, leadership to create public value, and the dynamics of police working with elected politicians. Her research involves working closely with policy-makers and practitioners as well as academics. She has won three national or international awards for research. She has written seven books and has many well-cited publications.
Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes QPM
Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes joined policing in 1995 as a constable with South Yorkshire Police. He then worked as a detective, and in a variety of other roles, working his way up to the position of Chief Superintendent, Borough Commander.
In 2010, Matt joined South Wales Police as an Assistant Chief Constable, leading on specialist crime, and served as Deputy Chief Constable before being appointed Chief Constable in 2018. He was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal (QPM) in that year’s Honours.
In 2020, Matt joined the Metropolitan Police as Assistant Commissioner, leading and overseeing transformation programmes, moving to the post of Head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing and the Met’s Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations. This continued a long-standing focus on intelligence and security.
His 30-year career has been split between periods in specialist areas of policing and others at the heart of local policing, delivering for communities and supporting frontline colleagues, including a focus on their wellbeing. He is a former Chair, and now Vice Chair, of Police Sport UK, and a Patron of the Police Remembrance Trust.
Grace Ononiwu CBE
Grace Ononiwu was appointed to the new post of Director General Legal Delivery of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in June 2025.
Prior to her current role, Grace was appointed as Director of Legal Services within CPS in 2021, with responsibility for providing assurance to the Director of Public Prosecutions on the quality of the legal decision-making and casework progression across a number of CPS areas. She also has thematic responsibility for Legal Guidance and Development, and Head of Profession support.
Grace qualified as a solicitor in 1991 and joined a private firm of solicitors practising criminal law. She joined the CPS as a Crown Prosecutor and held a number of positions, which led to her appointment as Northamptonshire Chief Crown Prosecutor in 2005, making her the first African Caribbean to be appointed as a Chief Crown Prosecutor in the history of the CPS.
In 2009, Grace was appointed into London as Deputy Chief Prosecutor of, what was then, the largest CPS region, with responsibility for the London Districts. In 2012, she was appointed Chief Crown Prosecutor for the East of England region, and in 2014 appointed Chief Crown Prosecutor of the West Midlands region, making her the first woman / first black person to hold both posts.
Grace has made a significant contribution to the CPS equality and diversity agenda and was previously the Chair of the National Black Crown Prosecution Association.
Grace was awarded the OBE in 2008 in recognition for her work with the CPS and received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Hertfordshire, in recognition for her contribution to justice and the legal system. Grace is now a visiting Professor of the University and Patron of their Law Clinic.
Grace received the honorary award of Doctor of the University from Birmingham City University in recognition of exceptional service to law and order in the West Midlands.
In 2019, Grace was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to Law and Order and was included in the Power List for four years running, which features 100 of the UK’s most influential men and women of African, African Caribbean and African American heritage.
Grace was also the recipient of the Black Solicitor’s Network – Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her career to date and for championing diversity in the legal profession.
Kate Steadman
Kate has extensive expertise in the design and execution of organisational transformation, with 15 years’ successful delivery as a global leader of strategy, transformation and communications within large, listed, global companies.
Kate has special expertise in highly complex, regulated, government-facing, or scrutinised organisations. She was one of the youngest people to be appointed to any FTSE 250 Executive Board.
Driven by a commitment to improving public services, on graduating from Cambridge University, where she served as President of the Cambridge Union, Kate spent several years as a policy adviser to senior politicians in the fields of criminal justice, home affairs and legal affairs, before moving into the private sector.
Kate is currently a non-executive director for one of the largest acute healthcare trusts in the UK, as well as the chair of trustees for a charity.
Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson QPM
Sir Stephen Watson is amongst the most experienced senior officers in the country having joined Lancashire Constabulary in 1988. He was appointed to Merseyside Police in 2006 on promotion to Chief Superintendent.
In 2011, he was appointed to the Metropolitan Police as Commander for the East Area, with responsibility for all aspects of operational policing across nine London boroughs. As a senior member of the 2012 Olympic Command Team, he was awarded the Commissioner’s Commendation in recognition of his role, which involved the planning and delivery of all territorial policing across London throughout the Olympic and Paralympic games.
Sir Stephen returned to the north of England in 2015, having been appointed Deputy Chief Constable for Durham Constabulary. In 2016, Sir Stephen took up his appointment as Chief Constable for South Yorkshire Police, which during his tenure, became the most improved force in the country and today remains amongst the very top tier of high performing forces.
In 2021, Sir Stephen became Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police (GMP). The force had been placed into ‘Special Measures’ by HMICFRS given the manifold failings in the organisation at that time. Such was the extent of early progress that GMP was formally brought out of external engagement in 2022 – the most rapid recovery journey ever recorded in contemporary British policing history.
In 2023, Sir Stephen was appointed, by the Home Secretary, to be a non-executive Director on the Board of the College of Policing. He also assumed the role of Service Director for the Executive Leadership element of the UK’s Police Leadership Programme.
Sir Stephen was awarded the Queens Police Medal (QPM) for distinguished service; he was extraordinarily honoured to receive the award personally from HM Queen Elizabeth II. It was announced in the King’s Birthday Honours 2025, that Sir Stephen had been appointed a Knight Bachelor for services to policing.