The Strategic Violence Reduction Board

Gary Godden was elected Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner in May 2024.

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Having lived in Nottinghamshire for 25 years, and spending 15 years as a police officer within Nottinghamshire Police, Gary has a good understanding of the policing service and the different communities of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

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This included working as part of the Vanguard Plus team – a multi-agency team tackling serious crimes like gun, gang and knife violence, and working closely with the most vulnerable people in our communities.

This experience influenced Gary to make a difference not only in the police but it also broadened his perspective, leading him into politics.

Gary’s career has also involved working in the NHS, including most recently as Assistant Head of the Graduate Management Training Scheme at NHS England, where he built experience of compassionate leadership and partnership working.

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In his earlier life, Gary grew up in Barnardo's care homes until he was adopted by his parents at the age of seven. After finding his way in life, his desire grew to make a positive impact on his community.

Gary is passionate about building public trust and confidence in Nottinghamshire Police and ensuring the service is the best it can be.

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His priorities for his term in office also include tackling knife crime, antisocial behaviour and violence against women and girls, as well as enhancing high-visibility neighbourhood policing, tackling speeding and making our roads safer.

Gary is also committed to being accessible to the public and open and transparent in his work in representing the people of Nottinghamshire.

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Adam Brookes is the Pathway Lead for Major Trauma at Nottingham University Hospitals and Clinical Lead for Emergency Surgery.

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Adam is responsbile to the regionalisation of Major Trauma Services across the East Midlands, the development of Queen's Medical Centre into the East Midlands regional Major Trauma Centre and for the modernisation of treatment pathways for patients with emergency surgical conditions across Nottingham.

Sponsor for the VRP's Trauma Informed Practice, Personal Resilience and Contextual Safeguarding work stream

Catherine is Corporate Director of People at Nottingham City Council.  She started her career in Nottinghamshire, qualifying as a social worker at Nottingham Trent University.

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She has worked in a wide range of roles across local authorities and the NHS, focussing initially on mental health and subsequently moving into leadership and transformation roles at director level.

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Catherine is the statutory director for children's services and adult social services.

Richard joined the Ambulance Service in 1996.  He is a qualified paramedic and has extensive experience having held clinical and operational senior managerial roles including as a Divisional manager for EMAS' Lincolnshire Division and Director of Operations for EMAS.

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In March 2016, Richard became the EMAS Acting Chief Executive and the Chief Executive in October 2017.

Sponsor for the VRP's Data, Intelligence and Evidence work stream

Dr Andy Newton is an Associate Professor in Policing and Criminology at Nottingham Trent University, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice - which he joined in November 2019.

Previously he has worked at the Universities of Liverpool, Huddersfield and Leicester. He has 20 years’ experience in crime prevention and community safety – with particular expertise in crime analysis, policy monitoring and evidence-based evaluations, problem solving, and mixed methods research.

He is widely published and known internationally for his work on violence and the Night-Time Economy, Crime and Place Analysis, and Crime and Transport. He has worked collaboratively with a range of organisations including: Community Safety Partners (Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Kirklees); Police Forces (West Yorkshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Derbyshire, South Yorkshire, PSNI and BTP); and his research has been funded by Transport for London, Merseytravel, Metroline, Alcohol Concern, CrossRail, the Home Office, the Department for Transport, the College of Policing, and the EU Commission.

Chief Constable Kate Meynell took the reins at Nottinghamshire Police in December 2022. Previously the Deputy Chief Constable at Derbyshire Constabulary, she has returned to the force where she began and spent most of her career.

Sponsor for the VRP's Data, Intelligence and Evidence work stream

Jonathan has worked in public health in Nottinghamshire since 2009, taking up the role of Director of Public Health for Nottinghamshire County Council in 2018. 

When he took office his first Director of Public Health Annual Report was on Violence Prevention which was integral to improving health and wellbeing so that all residents can develop and fulfil their aspirations.

Alongside this overarching aim, important goals for Jonathan and his team are that no one in Nottinghamshire should grow, live or work in an environment which is harmful to their health, and that everyone should have access to support to make choices which lead to good health and wellbeing.

Sponsor for the VRP's Trauma Informed Practice, Personal Resilience and Contextual Safeguarding work stream

Colin joined Nottinghamshire County Council in October 2015 as Corporate Director for Children and Families, leading one of the largest departments delivering children, families and cultural services in the Country, serving over 110,000 children in Nottinghamshire.

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He had previously been in post as Director of Children's Services at Sefton Metropolitan Borough council in Merseyside.  

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As a qualified and registered Social Worker, Colin has worked in children's services for a number of local authorities and charities over the last 30 years.  He also spent nearly two years working for the Department for Children, Schools and Families, leading on improvements under the Every Child Matters agenda and new policies on child poverty and children with disabilities.

Sponsor for the VRP's Mentoring, Education and Training work stream

As the principal of West Nottinghamshire College in Mansfield, Andrew is passionate about further education and the wellbeing of the nation’s young people.

He is a strong advocate of the new opportunities and experiences that education can provide; helping to transform the lives of individuals and encouraging communities to thrive.

Andrew has held senior posts in further education over the past ten years, and also has a wealth of experience from a variety of military roles. He has great empathy for the challenges facing today’s young people, and sees his role as enabling everyone in the college to do their absolute best for the benefit of college students and the communities of Mansfield and Ashfield.

Community Ambassador

Al-Hurraya was founded in 2014 by Asad Fazil after he recognised that there was an emerging need of a service which works directly with Minority communities. He wanted to offer services where he could use his specialism, empower people and engage with them.

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Asad has over ten years of experience working in the voluntary, statutory sector. Having overcome many challenges of his own he identified the need for a culturally specific organisation which would improve service provision for Black, Asian, Minority, Ethnic, Refugees and New Emerging communities.  He developed the first UK based Islamic 12 step program.

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Asad’s vision for Al-Hurraya is for it to become a leading BAME specialist service providing solutions and support for all its beneficiaries.