A view of the Career of Jo Farrell Police Scotland’s New Chief Constable

Police Scotland and financial stress-Chief Constable resigns

Sir Iain Livingstone dramatically advised in February 2023 that he was quitting his post some two years before the end of his employment contract announcing deep concern about “systemic under-funding” of the authority which severely compromised the ability of the police force to investigate crimes due to budgetary pressures. Not long after press releases warned that the Police force was hopelessly underfunded due to unsustainable salary costs brought about by excessive increases in the wage bill not financed by the Government. Some media outlets forecast that 1500 job cuts would need to be implemented within the year. Livingstone, who had been responsible in recent years for building the force wanted no part of the imminent many nights of long knives.

Police Scotland recruiting a “WOKE” Chief Constable: The post was advertised at great cost throughout the UK, in journals and in the press and contained the brief that the new chief constable would be in position by June 2023. The successful candidate would be expected to possess the qualities of ownership, collaboration, support, inspiration, critical analysis, innovation and open-mindedness and would confirm they understand their own emotions and know which situations might affect their ability to deal with stress and pressure.

There were only two applicants. Not surprising the post is toxic!! Police Scotland’s deputy chief constable, Malcolm Graham and the chief constable of Durham Constabulary, Jo Farrell.

Ms Jo Farrell: Who came to prominence across the UK in June 2021, when her contract was controversially extended by three years by the Labour Party-controlled Durham Police Authority, only weeks before she had cleared the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner of breaching strict Covid lockdown regulations in Durham, in April 2021, after they had been pictured drinking beer and eating a takeaway curry with colleagues. An event given the title “Beergate” by the media. Farrell concluded there had been no breach of the ban on indoor mixing as the gathering was work-related. Her critics alleged she had been got at!!!!

Sam Fowles is a constitutional barrister, lecturer at the University of Oxford, and Director of the Institute for Constitutional and Democratic Research. He wrote: Durham police have a history of deference to power. They refused to fine Dominic Cummings, then a senior government advisor, for his (now infamous) Covid infected trips to Durham and Barnard Castle (despite admitting that he likely committed an offence). A week later, they fined two people (not members of the government) for the same thing. It was claimed the decision was based on a policy of not taking retrospective action on lockdown breaches. While Farrell was not prepared to make an exception for Dominic Cummings, a senior government official, she appears to have done so for the leader of the opposition. This shouldn’t be about politics. I have no party affiliation so no particular dog in this fight. But one’s support for the Labour or Conservative parties should be irrelevant to one’s commitment to democratic norms. The police must protect the public, not wield the law as a weapon against the government’s political enemies. Anything else is an abuse of power. Regardless of the outcome of its investigation, Durham Constabulary and Jo Farrell have serious questions to answer.

Mr Malcolm Graham: whose career began in 1995 at Lothian and Borders Police, was formerly assistant chief constable for major crime, public protection and local crime when Police Scotland was created in 2013. He became Deputy Chief Constable in 2019. A police source said before the interviews that the last quote counted against Graham being appointed.

Jo Farrell was successful in her application and will take on the post in early October 2023.

About Jo Farrell

Recently appointed to the post of Chief Constable of Police Scotland there is a paucity of information about her personal life of career before 2002 when carefully staged photo opportunity releases began to appear.

Jo Farrell was born on September 1968 in Merseyside, England. Nothing much is known about her early life except that her family moved to Cambridgeshire when she was about 15yo from where she attended Sheffield Polytechnic, completing a degree in Business in 1991, before starting a career in the police force as a Constable in Cambridge, gaining promotion in 1996.

In 2002, aged 34yo, she joined Northumbria Police as a Chief Inspector, gaining promotion to the rank of Assistant Chief Constable, overseeing community policing and communications .

In November 2016, aged 48yo she joined Durham Constabulary as the force’s Assistant Chief Constable and was promoted to the role of Chief Constable in June 2019, aged 51yo.

Farrell is a very private individual and chooses not to share any information about her family. But an article published by the Scottish Daily Express suggests that she is married to a retired police officer. Her family is comprised of three children, two stepsons and a daughter.

Chief Constable Livingstone His “institutionally racist” Police Force Jo Farrell and Storm Babet

What a bummer. Livingstone, as Chief Constable, was responsible for policing in Scotland for six years and was therefore accountable for the perilous financial state of the force when he resigned. But he was weirdly commended by the press and other organisations for his resignation statement admitting the force he had led for six years was “institutionally racist and sexist”. FM Humza Yousaf said the admission was a “moment of vindication” for people of colour in Scotland. Livingstone did not explain his statement or the significance of his contribution which was remiss since he had been with the force in a very senior role from its inception some 10 years before. No blame to be attributed to himself!!! and he must have known his words would have a devasting impact on an already demoralised force.

That was it. No presentation of evidence showing the areas of responsibility where his force had failed where racism, sexism, discrimination and crimes had been commonplace or what had been done by his senior officers to address the issues and take corrective action.

Police Scotland ended up where it is today because the past ten 10 years have been marked by senior police officers presiding over a proliferation of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) preventing former officers and members of the public from reporting racism, sexism, misogyny and other wrongdoing. Those who spoke out were ignored and castigated whilst guilty parties were protected and promoted resulting in the rise of management mediocrity in the force.

Fallout: Newly appointed £250pa Chief Constable – Jo Farrell, perhaps recognising she had been handed a “poisoned chalice” decided she needed to complete an externally sourced urgent investigation into the financial viability and structural organisation of the authority and recruited Assistant Chief, Gary Ridley, a trusted colleague from her previous place of employment with Durham Police Authority to assist her.

It is not known if she consulted with any of her management team colleagues or gained the authority of her reporting managers before taking the action which is unprecedented in Scotland. Police operational matters are rarely revealed to the public and answers may never be provided to the public.

A charge from Durham Police Authority to Police Scotland for Ridley’s time, travel, accommodation and subsistence, if recovered would be around £9000 weekly. Let us hope the financially challenged organisation negotiated a part-freebie, at the very least.

And early reports released through the “Chinese whispers” grapevine are not encouraging. Rumour had it that a brutal cull of police officers and civilian workers is to be expected with up to 1500 positions being left unfilled forming part of a staff reduction and coupled with large numbers of early retirements clearing out the less able from the force. But even that might not be enough to restore order.

Scotland’s new Chief Constable Jo Farrell promised to prioritise trust, confidence, high performance, and officer and staff wellbeing as she took command of the national police service on Monday, 9 October 2023

Chief Constable Farrell made a commitment to focus on threat, harm, and risk, and on prevention and problem solving, during a swearing-in ceremony at Police Scotland Headquarters, Tulliallan.

She also committed to prioritising the wellbeing of Police Scotland’s officers and support staff.

Chief Constable Farrell said: “I believe passionately in the value policing brings to our communities: keeping people safe from harm, protecting the vulnerable, bringing criminals to justice, solving problems, and reducing offending. We stand up for and with our communities, which strengthens them, improves their well-being, and allows them to prosper.

“My operational focus is on threat, harm, and risk. Police Scotland will focus on prevention, problem-solving and proactivity, and on looking after our hard-working officers and staff so our people can deliver our vital public service.

“Police Scotland is a highly credible public sector organisation known for its compassion and it attracts huge public support. It is a privilege to be entrusted with the leadership of so many talented, professional, and courageous police officers, staff, and volunteers.”

Storm Babet 18 – 21 October 2023

On Monday 16 October 2023, the Met Office issued yellow and amber, (increased to red in Scotland) weather warnings, (repeated daily until Saturday 21 October 2023 covering most of Scotland, and the northeast of England, that a 500-mile-wide wall of hefty rain and 70mph+ gale-force winds would dump around 10 inches of rain on the affected areas causing widespread flooding, power cuts and travel disruption between Wednesday and Saturday. Warnings were issued that the heavy rain would create “fast-flowing and deep floodwaters” posing “danger to life” and essential services such as road, rail, sea, air travel, electricity, gas, water and mobile phone signals would be disrupted. Travel by road was discouraged due to the dangers presented by excessive surface water exacerbated by debris blocking drainage systems and culverts, etc. Rivers would be unable to cope with catchments saturated from recent heavy rain and flooding and major flooding was expected. The east coast main rail line connecting Aberdeen to the rest of the UK, with its history of coastal landslides was expected to close.

Noteworthy Events between 16-21 October 2023

18-20 October, Rescue teams had to be deployed to Brechin, Angus, and other areas in the county after flood defences were breached and hundreds of homes were flooded and/or left surrounded by water. And the picture had not improved much despite the sterling efforts of many volunteer rescue teams. 27,000 homes were left without power for days and many cold wet, hungry and depressed Scots had to be rescued and taken to secure centres. The RAC reported that the huge amount of rainfall continued to make road travel inadvisable, and impossible in many areas due to floodwaters, fallen trees and debris.

19 -21 October, a 57-year-old woman’s body was recovered from the North Esk River in Angus, Scotland after she was swept into the Water of Lee. A tree hit a van on the B9127 road in Whigstreet, Angus, killing the 56-year-old driver. The east coast rail network between Aberdeen and the rest of the UK was closed. A man was trapped inside his vehicle in floodwater near Marykirk, Aberdeenshire. Police searched until 23 October when they found him dead inside the vehicle. A large plane skidded off a runway due to the high winds whilst landing at Leeds Bradford Airport, causing the airport to close. All of the passengers were evacuated from the plane safely. 45 workers were airlifted off of the Stena Spey drilling platform in the North Sea by HM Coastguard after four of the platform’s eight anchors detached themselves due to the severe weather. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks finally restored power to around 36,000 customers, but 700 properties were still waiting to have power restored. Other power outages included 40,000 Northern Powergrid and 14,000 Scottish Power customers.

On Friday 20 October, at the height of the storm the recently appointed Chief Constable of Police Scotland, Jo Farrell, commandeered an on-duty traffic police officer to drive her to her home in Northumberland and an ex-colleague from Durham police, a resident of Gateshead home to Gateshead……… Part 1

Storm Babet and JO Farrell’s abuse of her authority

It was against the foregoing background that Jo Farrell decided at the height of the storm, at the end of an exhausting week, which she now regrets, to commandeer an unmarked police car to chauffeur herself and Ridley to their homes in Northumberland and Gateshead.

The car was driven by a traffic police officer, (one of only two officers covering the Lothians) who was forced to abandon his duties and return to his Livingstone Depot and swap cars following his removal from his more appropriate duties, providing emergency cover for the public, for over 6 hours covering a round trip of about 250 miles. Other aspects, some with lesser consequence include the driver illegally deploying a “blue light” to speed up his response to the newly issued instructions and the increased risk to himself driving unnecessarily in very hazardous conditions.

The source of the leaked information told The Scottish Sun: “It’s an awful lack of judgement – and a kick in the teeth to frontline officers.”

Tory shadow justice secretary Russell Findlay said: “The new chief constable is tasked with making extremely difficult financial decisions which makes her misuse of police resources even more jarring. There are many unknown details and unanswered questions, including what, if any, consideration was given to the safety of the officer who was ordered to complete this 250-mile round trip in dangerous weather conditions.”

Recently retired Serious Crime and Drug Squad officer, Simon McLean told The Sun newspaper: ‘It’s inappropriate and not the impression you want to make on your new force in the first few weeks – misusing resources like that, it’s terrible”

David Threadgold, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, commenting on Farrell’s apology said: “If the Chief Constable has made an error of judgment then it’s appropriate she apologises for that.”

The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) said it was “aware the Chief Constable used a police vehicle following the cancellation of a * scheduled train journey. The chair had discussed this with the Chief Constable who had apologised. The authority ­considers the matter closed”. *Play on words and circumstances. Police Scotland and Scottish Rail issued train cancellation notifications followed by an announcement of the closure of the rail network much earlier than offered.

The newly appointed Chief Constable will not be surrounded by friendly faces in the force and many leaks, some very damaging may be released to the press over the next year. Will Jo Farrell survive? Four Chief Constables departing in difficult circumstances in a short period and her dodgy start after only 11 days in post does not augur well for her future.

Police Scotland civilian finance chief has been handed a secret early retirement pay-off after making a failed bullying claim against the Chief Constable.

Deputy Chief Officer David Page, who earned up to £195,000 a year, accused Jo Farrell of ‘prolonged patterns of bullying’.

Mr Page lodged his grievance shortly after she took up her post in October last year, inheriting financial turmoil as the service faced budget cuts of up to £20million

But a Scottish Police Authority (SPA) probe established she had ‘no case to answer’.

Mr Page, a former Army intelligence officer, has been off sick since he made the claim, and yesterday it emerged he had taken voluntary early retirement. 

The SPA said it could not provide details of his settlement.

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Russell Findlay said: ‘The paying public are entitled to know the terms of substantial pay-outs involving highly paid individuals in charge of state bodies, especially where there have been allegations of wrongdoing.

‘After more than a decade of policing scandals, it is incumbent on ministers, the SPA and the Chief Constable to rebuild the trust of frontline officers and the public.’

Ms Farrell – former chief constable of Durham Constabulary – apologised last year after she commandeered a police vehicle to be driven 120 miles from Edinburgh to her home in Northumberland, after her train was cancelled.

Gary Ridley, the assistant chief officer at Durham, was also in the car from Edinburgh and was dropped off at his home in Gateshead.

Mr Page, 61, went off sick shortly after Ms Farrell took up the £248,724-a-year job and his concerns partly related to Mr Ridley’s ‘unpaid advice’ to her on issues including budget challenges, strategic planning and reducing bureaucracy. 

Mr Page had similar responsibilities and it is understood he claimed he was treated with disrespect, which amounted to alleged ‘bullying’ behaviour – a claim that was later rejected. 

At a meeting of Holyrood’s criminal justice committee last year, Ms Farrell defended bringing in Mr Ridley, saying: ‘Having been in policing for more than 30 years, I have a network of people whom I know bring value to policing, and Mr Ridley is one of them.’

Outlining the scale of the financial crisis at Police Scotland, Mr Page told the SPA in September last year that ‘slash and burn’ budget cuts would be needed and that ‘every penny is a prisoner’.

The SPA confirmed that Mr Page had left the force after eight years’ service. 

It said he ‘exited the organisation under terms consistent with the current approved voluntary redundancy/voluntary early retirement scheme’ but refused to comment on the detail of the sums involved for ‘data privacy reasons’.

According to the SPA’s annual accounts, the ‘cash equivalent transfer value’ of Mr Page’s pension in March last year was £306,000.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘The Chief Constable’s aim is to bring the frontline of Scottish policing to the strongest position possible within the resources available.’

The Moat disaster

Jan 2016: Northumbria Police V David Rathband’s family

The High Court case of former policeman David Rathband’s family who allege the senior officer, Supt. Jo Farrell, in charge of the manhunt for Raoul Moat, had failed in her duty of care by not issuing a timeous warning to police officers on duty on the night their brother was shot by Moat.

Former policeman David Rathband, 42, was blinded when crazed gunman Moat shot him twice in the face and permanently blinded him as he sat in his stationary patrol car at a roundabout on the outskirts of Newcastle. Unable to cope with the stress he committed suicide in 2012 by hanging himself at his home in Blyth.

Relevant Events: A massive manhunt was already underway for crazed gunman Moat in the North East of England after he had shot and murdered two people. On the night of PC Rathband’s shooting, Moat spoke to a Northumbria Police call handler for almost five minutes, saying he would kill any officer who came near him, that he was not coming in alive and that he was hunting for officers to kill. He ended the call at 00.34.

Unsuspecting, on-duty, PC Rathband, who was not advised of the immediate threat to his life had parked his patrol car close to a roundabout, on the outskirts of Newcastle and was shot by Moat twice in the face and permanently blinded only eight minutes later, at around 00.42. Moat later turned the gun on himself after he was cornered by armed police.

The QC for the family told the court Supt. Farrell should have issued a warning after Moat issued his threats. He said: “An appropriate warning is not rocket science. It’s a very simple warning commonly used by police forces, “keep mobile”.

Moat was wanted for murder and he had phoned the police. He had made threats to shoot or hunt for police officers. There should have been a warning, a simultaneous warning that was easy to compose, easy to formulate and easy to disseminate. And which would have had the impact of telling the police officers they were at risk.”

The QC defending the conduct of Supt. Farrell told the court a finding against the force would engender defensive policing and harm future police operations. He said: “It would distort operational thinking. It could deny the police the freedom to act in the way they deem necessary and in the public interest. What Supt. Farrell has regard for the public interest. What would happen with operational disruption and what would happen to the public? It is not melodramatic to propose that if Supt Farrell had rushed there would have been a different family with a different complaint, possibly equally as serious. That’s the balance Supt. Farrell had to consider in the heat of the moment.”

The judge later rejected their claim, saying it was “well-established law” that police did not owe the public or officers a “private law duty of care” when making operational decisions.

Afternote: Police officers and the Public should take careful note of the judgement. Bad policing decisions resulting in injury or death are defensible in law. Sad but true

Supt. Farrell – Northumbria Police Authority V the Late PC Rathband’s family

Additional reporting: The judge ordered PC Rathband’s family to settle Northumbria Police Authority’s £100,000 costs that day. With added costs over the next few months, the charge against them was increased to around £200,000. A warning indeed to anyone contemplating a similar action against authorities in the future and there are some who will support the protection of the system over claims from individuals. However, the judge may have delivered a judgement that fitted the needs of the state by avoiding creating a precedence.

About Raoul Moat: Northumbria Police Authority was forewarned, (before Moat’s release from prison where he had done time for assaulting a child under the age of 8 and his ex-girlfriend) in an extensive written report provided to it by, the Prison Authorities about Moat’s mental instability, and his placement from prison, of an order with a gun supplier for a modified shotgun and his much stated to fellow lags of his intention to cause chaos on his release. No mention is given to this information which if it had been given the attention it deserved would have alerted Supt. Jo Farrell and avoided unnecessary casualties.

The 5 shells Moat pumped into his first victim, the boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend had all been modified to kill, (metal pellets removed and replaced with a single lump of lead shot). Shells used to wound his girlfriend and PC Rathband were unmodified.

The judge laboured the point that Supt. Jo Farrell, the Incident Officer in the Control Room, had been placed in an impossible situation having been given less than 5 minutes to decide whether to alert police officers, deployed in the area near the place where Moat had telephoned a few minutes before and briefed police of his intent to continue taking his revenge on society by tracking down and dealing with any police officer who had previously arrested him. One officer on duty fitted the bill PC David Rathband.

Cumbria shootings: Derrick Bird’s rampage: The timeline of events on 2 June 2010 during in taxi driver Derrick Bird shot dead 12 people and injured 11 more in west Cumbria. The massacres in Cumbria only 4 weeks previously should have alerted the Northumbria Police Authority to give serious consideration to abandoning “single-car deployment” when Moat started his killing spree the day before he shot PC Rathband. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10259982

PC Rathband and his previous association with Moat: Moat, had an extensive record of minor misdemeanours and his contact with elements of crime in Northumbria was well established. He also operated a small gardening business, owned a truck and was a regular user of the A1. There had been a spate of scrap metal thefts and Northumbria Police Authority decided to crack down on the criminals.

PC Rathband routinely patrolled the A1 and had arrested Moat, whom he suspected was transporting stolen scrap metal. A day later he spotted Moat on the street and checked the follow-up report and was astonished to note that, yet again Moat had been released with the recommendation “NFA” (no further action).

The Rathband Tapes – 14 podcasts – Listen in then decide if Northumbria Police Authority senior officers covered themselves in glory

For over a decade, conversations between the late David Rathband and his ghostwriter Tony Horne, have remained locked in a vault. Now for the first time, Tony shares them with David’s twin, Darren – and you. Darren and Tony walk you through the story from its humble beginnings in Staffordshire to its tragic end in Northumberland. You will hear, David’s own account of being shot and the subsequent trial of the two accomplices in the case, the untold story of dealing with becoming blind and the fatigue of the endless admin involved, tensions he held within Northumbria Police, depression, Pride of Britain Awards. Going from hero to zero overnight, and ultimately how the twins warned that David’s suicide was inevitable. In this emotional and painful story – albeit with the twins’ dark sense of humour, you will hear David. In his own words. https://tunein.com/podcasts/True-Crime/The-Rathband-Tapes—Trailer-p3739208/