Northumbria Police’s chief constable Vanessa Jardine will return to the force following a short retirement. The top cop said her new tenure would see the biggest technological innovations the force has seen in decades.
Chief constable Jardine, who first joined the police back in 1994, will return to her post on 22 October as part of a national retire and rehire scheme. The scheme is designed to retain skills, knowledge and experience within the police and remove financial disincentives officers face when they achieve 30 years’ service.
In a statement from the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria, the scheme does not create extra costs to the taxpayer. Her return was subject to the agreement of the Police and Crime Panel, which met this afternoon.
Before her reappointment to the role, chief constable Jardine said she hoped to usher in the installation of the NicheRMS365 computer system by February next year.
Chief Constable Jardine said: “The biggest thing coming imminently is we are about to change our 40 year old computer system finally to a system called NICHE which is a records management system and that will be live in February 2026.
The chief constable added: “That will be the biggest change Northumbria Police has seen for over 40 years because it will fundamentally change the way we operate. It opens the door to so much more, the system we have at the moment you cannot overlay current technology because it is so old.”
NICHE will also allow officers to use their mobile devices to tell them what incidents they are going to, map the incident, and update it as it progresses.
Police and Crime Commissioner Susan Dungworth recommended the re-appointment of Vanessa Jardine. Afterwards she said: “Vanessa’s reappointment is in the best interests of not only Northumbria Police but of our communities too – and I am pleased today her rejoining was unanimously supported by the Panel.
“There is nothing unusual about this scheme, in fact it’s been widely used by Chief Constables up and down the country. It’s allowing us to retain the services of a proven leader of high calibre and experience.
“Under her leadership we have seen significant response time improvements and reductions in total crime figures – these are things residents will be keen for her to build on. She can now continue to put her vision for the Force into action, and I look forward to continuing to work alongside her to deliver on the priorities set out in my Police and Crime Plan for safer streets and stronger communities.”
Following the approval, chief constable Jardine said: “It has been a real privilege to have been Northumbria’s Chief Constable for the last two-and-a-half years and I’m immensely proud of the Force and the people I work alongside.
“I now have more than 31 years of service, but I want to continue and provide that leadership continuity to deliver outstanding services to the people of the Northumbria area.”
