Chief officers

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, where he initially headed up the force's Strategic Development Department. He subsequently served for three years as Area Commander for Liverpool North, one of the largest and most challenging Basic Command Units in the country.

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. This dynamic and diverse area is home to over 2.3 million Londoners, and he held command of 6,250 police officers and staff with a total operating budget of £325 million.

As a qualified firearms and public order commander, he regularly performed Gold Command roles in several high-profile policing operations and critical incidents, including a fatal helicopter crash in central London and in working with partner agencies across East London so as to restore public confidence in the aftermath of the 2011 riots. 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.

In June 2015 Sir Stephen returned to the north of England, having been appointed Deputy Chief Constable for Durham Constabulary, and in July 2016 he took up his appointment as Chief Constable for South Yorkshire Police (SYP). During his tenure, SYP became the most improved force in the country for three consecutive years and in 2019 he was awarded the Queens Police Medal for distinguished service.

Sir Stephen became Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in May 2021.  GMP is the second largest force in England and Wales with circa 14,500 officers and staff; and an operating budget of approximately £820m.

His appointment came at a difficult time for 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 October 2022 – the most rapid recovery journey ever recorded in contemporary British policing history.  GMP achieved the welcome epithet of most improved in the country during 2022/23 and today remains powerfully resurgent across all measures of police performance.

In March 2023, Sir Stephen was appointed, by the Home Secretary, to be a non-executive Director on the Board of the College of Policing.  In July 2023, he assumed the role of Service Director for the Executive Leadership element of the UK’s Police Leadership Programme.  This is policing’s most senior leadership development course and assists in the identification and training of the future leaders of British policing.

Sir Stephen has previously led for the National Police Chief’s Council in respect of Crime Prevention and was Chair of the National Counter Corruption Advisory Committee.

DCC Terry Woods began his policing career in July 1996 when he joined Lancashire Constabulary as a Police Constable having previously been a Special Constable in Greater Manchester.

He enjoyed a wide and varied career within Lancashire serving the public across many areas in including Burnley, Blackburn, Preston and Blackpool. He has served in several departments including Response, Road Policing & Motorway, Operational Support Unit, Child Sexual Exploitation Teams, Neighbourhood and Change Management.

Terry is an accredited Specialist Strategic Firearms, CBRN, Public Order and Multi Agency Commander and has commanded many large-scale operations over a number of years including firearms and counter terrorism operations, civil emergencies, demonstrations, football matches and security operations. He also led the initial multi agency response in the early stages of COVID pandemic within Lancashire as chair of the Lancashire Resilience Forum.

He was promoted to ACC in 2017 before being appointed as the Deputy Chief Constable in 2019. In 2021 he was awarded the Queens Police Medal for his services to policing being described as an ‘exemplary operational leader’. He is also the NPCC lead for Police Driving.

On 1 September 2021 he was appointed as the Deputy Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police.

Chief Resource Officer

CRO Lee Rawlinson MBE joined GMP in July 2023 in the role of Chief Resource Officer.

He joined from the Environment Agency, where, as the Director for Sustainability and Service Operations, he led on: all aspects of corporate services, including HR, finance, fleet, estates and digital and data; corporate governance and operating systems, including business resilience; and the challenges of climate change, carbon reduction and net zero ambitions.

Born and raised in Rochdale, Lee knows Greater Manchester well, and as a senior incident commander for major disasters such as floods, fires and pollution, he has worked directly with GMP and partner agencies, including the Combined Authority and local authorities, on many incidents in the past.

Lee is an advocate of and has been an active leader on gender equality and social mobility. He has also been a board member for a number of organisations and charities for over 15 years, including the University of Bradford and Chester Zoo.

Lee was awarded an MBE in January 2025.

Lead for Local Policing

ACC Matt Boyle joined GMP as Assistant Chief Constable in April 2023 leading on local policing after a 25-year career at Merseyside police where he started in 1998 as a PC in Huyton in the Knowsley borough of Merseyside.

Matt has worked across many roles in Merseyside including the Force Dog Section and overseeing a new leadership framework and police uplift programme, however his primary focus has been across neighbourhood policing – from Neighbourhood Inspector for St Helens and Superintendent for Sefton to Chief Superintendent over local policing. 

Matt has also been Public Order Commander for several high-profile incidents across the Merseyside region as well as being an accredited match commander and has commanded high risk football fixtures and worked abroad at several Champions League fixtures.

Lead for Counter Terrorism Policing in the North West (CTPNW)

Robert Potts joined GMP in 1992 and has spent all his service with the force. He was appointed Temporary Assistant Chief Constable in June 2015 prior to his substantive promotion in April 2016. 

Prior to becoming an Assistant Chief Constable Rob worked in a number of districts and branches, including a period of time as Divisional Commander for South Manchester between 2009 and 2014, which followed a posting as Temporary Divisional Commander at Salford. In his time at both districts he was responsible, not only for operational delivery, but additionally for developing and implementing two new policing models that were both rolled out across the force.

As Assistant Chief Constable over almost nine years Rob has at different stages held portfolio responsibility for a range of areas including Public Protection, Local Policing Branch, all Districts, Operational Communications, Criminal Justice, Custody, Volunteers in Policing, Equality Diversity and Human Rights, Serious Violence, Organisational Change, Information Services and the policing consequences of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.

Rob is an accredited Specialist Strategic Firearms Commander, Gold Public Order Commander, Strategic CBRN Commander, Multi-Agency Gold Incident Commander, Senior Authorising Officer, CT Commander and SIRO. He is also a Course Director for the National Specialist Firearms Command Development Programme.  

Rob is currently the Chief Officer responsible for Counter Terrorism Policing in the North West (CTPNW). Counter Terrorism Policing is a national network that supports forces across the country and the North West forces of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside form the NW region. CTPNW comprises around 1,000 staff from across the NW forces who work with the forces, partners and communities to protect the public from terrorism.

Portfolio lead for Force Contact, Crime and Operations Branch (FCCO) and Specialist Operations.

ACC Chris Sykes is currently responsible for the Force Contact, Crime and Operations Branch (FCCO) in Greater Manchester Police. This involves leading the Force Contact Centre, Fore Operations Unit and Force Crime Management Unit.

He is also responsible for the Specialist Operations Branch, having experience at a strategic level across a range of command roles including firearms, public order/public safety and multiagency command which involves the police and GM Partners responding to major incidents. Chris is the Chair of the Greater Manchester Resilience Forum and has commanded many large scale and high profile events across Greater Manchester, including sporting events, Royal visits and political conferences.

Previously, Chris was the Head of Local Policing and Criminal Justice based at Greater Manchester Police's headquarters. He was responsible for Public Service Reform, Neighbourhoods, Confidence and Equality, and Criminal Justice and Custody. He is an experienced operational commander. Over the years he has led policing in Bury, Rochdale and Stockport, and previously held senior roles in Manchester and Oldham.

Chris leads the work in GMP to ensure we are the most armed forces friendly police force in the country, recognising the skills our Armed Forces Community bring into the organisation, as well as the debt we all owe to those who have served, keeping the UK and many other countries safe.

Chris is a Specialist Strategic Firearms Commander and Gold Public Order Commander.

Rick Jackson was promoted to Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) in June 2024 and leads on Crime, Intelligence, and Forensics.

He began his policing career in June 1995, joining Greater Manchester Police (GMP) as a police constable. He remained with GMP throughout his career and has progressed to the rank of ACC.

He has spent much of his career in investigative roles, both on district and within the Public Protection and Serious Crime division.

During his time with GMP, he has been seconded to HMICFRS for three months, followed by a secondment to the Home Office as a 'lead peer reviewer'. He later became the lead for Performance and Improvement oversight in January 2021.

Rick spent several years as a superintendent in Bolton and has maintained a foothold in Bolton as a non-executive director for Fortalice, a Bolton-based domestic abuse charity.

He undertook the Cambridge Executive Police Leadership course in 2017, successfully completing a master’s degree in Police Management and Evidence-based Policing. He has qualified as a Public Order Gold Commander, a Strategic Firearms Commander and a Multi-Agency Gold Incident Commander.

After being the commander of the City of Manchester for 18 months he successfully passed the ACC process and has now joined the chief officer team in GMP.

Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Steph Parker started her policing career in 1999 when she joined GMP. She has spent the majority of her career in public protection, becoming ACC in September 2024.

Steph is the portfolio lead for Protecting Vulnerable People. She is also the force lead for Child Centred Policing and Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG). She has responsibility for the Public Protection Department which includes adult and child safeguarding, sex offender management, online child abuse investigation, and has strategic oversight of a number of historic child abuse investigations. Overall, she is responsible for ensuring that GMP are outstanding when it comes to protecting vulnerable people.

Steph’s key achievements since joining GMP have been to secure GMP’s first Risk of Sexual Harm order in 2005. She also led the roll out of Operation Encompass across GMP in 2017 and in 2024 became the national lead. The most notable accomplishment in her career however has been her steadfast dedication to safeguarding children and vulnerable individuals.

Steph’s aim for the future is to enhance support systems and ensure the safety and well-being of those at risk of abuse. Ultimately, her vision is to ensure that the force continues to evolve and improve our response to the increasing and more complex incidents involving children and vulnerable adults.

Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) John Webster commenced his policing career in Staffordshire Constabulary before transferring to Merseyside police in 2001. In October 2021 he transferred to GMP as the District Commander for Stockport. John became a Temp ACC in October 2024 and is the portfolio lead for Criminal Justice and Custody within the Force.

The Criminal Justice portfolio supports officers in the management of cases from arrest to prosecution, ensuring that offenders are dealt with fairly and in accordance with the law. The branch works closely with investigators, prosecutors and the courts to prepare case files and support victims and witnesses. The custody portfolio is responsible for the safe and legal detention of individuals arrested by officers. Custody staff ensure that detainees are treated fairly, their rights are upheld, and all procedures comply with the law.

John’s key achievement since joining GMP has been leading a high performing district, delivering justice for victims, nurturing effective partnerships and building trust, confidence and legitimacy in our community. John is the portfolio lead for Hostage and Crisis Negotiation Unit and is on the North West CT Cadre.

John aims to further develop support for all investigating officers managing cases through the Criminal Justice System, and to enhance the support for victims of crime.

Assistant Chief Officer (ACO) People

ACO Anne-Marie Haycock was appointed as GMP’s Assistant Chief Officer (ACO) role of People in 2026.

Anne-Marie has had a lengthy career spent in retail, logistics and corporate services in both general retail management and senior HR Management roles, ultimately rising to Group HR Director for a very challenging, fast-changing retailer. Now using her expertise to transfer these skills to a policing environment.

As the Assistant Chief Officer - People, Anne-Marie will ensure that our people strategy supports and strengthens all those things that people come to work for.  Aligning to the force strategy and activities to deliver our force ambition, purpose and will ensure to address those things our people tell us cause frustration. She will lead the People Branch as one team who all know what they are expected to do to work in partnership with all districts and branches effectively. 

Efficient and effective policing is built on strong performance management and it’s the same for people management.  We all want clear understanding of what’s expected of us; confidence of recognition of a job well done and management of our performance if we don’t deliver, leaders need help in employing simple systems to manage performance.  Equally, stronger performance management will become better at identifying talent and investing in people’s potential as well as providing wellbeing support.

As the ACO – People she will shape the future of GMP’s workforce in strategic partnership with the Chief Officer team and Senior Leadership teams; balance short term needs to stabilise and optimise, with long term transformation for growth. We demonstrate GMP as a great place to work, perform, and thrive: as the POAP activity list says, I am committed to delivering an outstanding HR service.

Leadership capability across every part of the Force is the key to this; through our leadership development, high expectations in QSB, and clear and transparent objectives and KPIs; we equip our leaders to inspire, innovate, problem solve, and deliver.

Director of IT & Digital

Director of Finance

ACO Ian Cosh OBE joined GMP in March 2022, in the newly created Assistant Chief Officer role of Finance Director.

Ian joined GMP from Lancashire Police where he was Director of Resources. In this role he was the Constabulary’s Chief Finance Officer and had responsibility for a wide range of services including, procurement, legal services, information technology, estates, fleet and facilities and was the force Senior Information Risk Owner.

Ian has over 36 years’ experience in public finance including a significant period of that time dealing with policing. He brings experience of working nationally on police financial matters and his influence and experience in policing is highly regarded.

As the Assistant Chief Officer for Finance, Ian has overall responsibility for GMP’s financial position. In addition, he has overall responsibility for Legal Services and is the Senior Information Risk Owner for the force.

Ian was awarded an OBE in January 2025 in recognition of his services to policing.

Adam has dedicated over 20 years to policing, serving both as a full-time officer and as a Special Constable. Beginning his career with the Metropolitan Police, in both uniform, detective and supervisory roles across front line policing and in specialist crime. He went on to become Chief Technologist at the National Crime Agency’s National Cyber Crime Unit, leading the development of specialist operational capabilities that strengthened the UK’s resilience against cyber threats.

Following this Adam transitioned to a private sector career, holding strategic and operational leadership roles in large multinational financial services organisations, where he has focused on protecting against cyber threats, fraud, and insider risk.

In recognition of his expertise, Adam was appointed Honorary Professor at the University of Manchester, where he teaches postgraduate courses in cyber security and supervises occasional research.

In 2025, Adam was appointed Chief Officer of Greater Manchester Police Special Constabulary where he will look to leverage his combination of policing, corporate and academic experience to drive forward the capability and ensure the Specials are able to bring forward all their unique professional and personal skills in service of GMP and the people of Manchester.