Wigan's new top cop aims to target the borough's criminal kingpins

Chief Supt Clare Jenkins takes up the hot seat at Robin Park HQ after 23 years with the Merseyside constabulary but can very much be considered a local lass, having lived in the borough since the age of seven.

She took over from the retiring Chief Supt Emily Higham only last month, but comes with a clear set of ideas about where she wants to take local policing next. And at least some of it is a continuation of her predecessor’s work, not least through the fostering of partnerships, both with the public and other agencies.

The 47-year-old married mum of one also believes that nailing the crooks who wreak the most damage will be key to her team’s success.

And she has previous with this. She says that her proudest career moment to date came as divisional commander in Knowsley when the Nash organised crime group, which had held terrifying sway in the area for quarter of a century, was dismantled.

Chief Supt Jenkins said: “They had had a foothold in the area for so long that many regarded them as untouchable. The community had become disillusioned that anything could happen to them and people were too scared to talk to the police.

"But it was a partnership approach that led to that success. Four offenders were sent to prison for a total of 53 years for drugs and firearms offences.

"I have got a real passion for pursuing offenders who are causing the most harm to communities. And part of that involves partnerships, whether that be PCSOs on patrol meeting residents, or with the third sector.

"The key is to act on information, show that we are acting on it and, if we can’t in a particular instance, explain why we are not acting.

"A priority for my time in Wigan will be to continue building on and enhancing public trust and confidence. We know that nationally public trust is at an all time low, but we can get it back, not least through preventative policing. We have a great team in place that is making that happen now.

"There have already been some significant reductions in crime over the past 12 months. The force’s Operation Bluefin, aimed at cutting anti-social behaviour and associated neighbourhood crime, has had successes through referrals to divert individuals away from crime, civil injunctions and closure orders.

"And our ability to respond to incidents when the public need us must not just be timely but also be of a high quality. We are looking to improve our processes all the way from launching an investigation through to what happens in court.

"Greater Manchester Police has come out of special measures and is improving. It's a very exciting time to be working for the force.”

So what was it that began the journey from Liverpool-born schoolgirl to Wigan’s chief of police? The answer: a once popular BBC television show of the 1980s.

Chief Supt Jenkins said: “When I was growing up I used to love watching Juliet Bravo on the telly which featured a female police inspector (Stephanie Turner played Jean Darblay in the first three series and Anna Carteret then took over as Kate Longton).

"Back in those days there weren’t many female role models apart from Margaret Thatcher and after watching that programme I was sold on life as a police officer. I have never had a desire to climb the rungs of the career ladder: it has just happened. Some people have their sights set and others don’t. When opportunities present themselves you take them.”

She may have wanted to be a police officer from junior school onwards, but there was an education to complete first. Having moved to Wigan, she attended school in Burscough before completing A-levels in maths, English and geography at Runshaw College in Leyland before going to the University of Sheffield where she changed her undergraduate course midway through from maths to landscape architecture.

Chief Supt Jenkins said that the subject in which she graduated was a “back-up plan” in case she didn’t make it into the police, there not being specialist policing degree courses as a way into the profession back in those days.

For many of these formative years she also had a job working as an operator – often through the night – at the British Bakeries factory in Cale Lane, New Springs, which she only gave up to take two gap years for travel after university and then successfully applying to join the police.

Over the years she rose through the ranks, becoming operations chief inspector for Liverpool before landing the Knowsley district commander job which she says she particularly enjoyed.

Most recently she was superintendent of Matrix forcewide command, in charge of everything in Merseyside Police from firearms to road policing, from equine and canine resources to drone capabilities.

And having lived in Wigan for four decades but worked mostly in Merseyside, how much affinity does she feel for her new policing patch?

She said: “The Knowsley posting felt like I was coming home, but now I am in Wigan, that does too.

"My dad remarried and my step-mum and all her family are from Wigan. I have lived here for most of my life while my 15-year-old daughter is Wigan born and bred. I have seen the place change over the years too: I remember the Galleries being built and now I have seen them knocked down and there are many happy memories of nights out on King Street!

"So to become the district commander here and be given the chance to make a difference in the place where I and my family live is something very special.”