District, non-district, and branch commanders

Chief Superintendent Mike Allen started his policing career after studying Biochemistry at the University of Nottingham. He joined Nottinghamshire Police, where he worked as a response officer for four years, before moving into the CID. He served there as a detective, in various investigative disciplines, at every rank up to and including Detective Chief Superintendent.

In his role, Mike is intent on building on the district’s successes, and aims to lead the district with clarity and simplicity, ensuring that all officers, staff and volunteers are focused on delivery, or enabling delivery, of a policing service where we prevent crime, respond to incidents quickly, undertake quality investigations, arrest the right people, safeguard the most vulnerable and ultimately assist the Crown Prosecution Service and Courts in sending to prison those who cause harm to our communities.

Neil began his career in Oldham 2002 and has taken on a variety of roles, including covert policing roles regionally, nationally, and internationally before returning to GMP to take the lead on Operation Vulcan – the world-renowned problem-solving initiative that tackled north Manchester’s ‘counterfeit street’ and help drastically reduce violence and exploitation in the area.

Natalie joined GMP in 2001 straight after graduating, as a response officer at Hazel Grove, Stockport. She then transferred to Bury after three years and soon joined the detective world. She moved up the ranks and spent time at Salford, followed by seven years in SOMU, before returning to Bury as a DI in the Public Protection Investigation Unit. She then worked in Professional Standards Branch for three years as a DCI and subsequently became a Detective Superintendent at Rochdale.   

The City of Manchester is led by Chief Superintendent David Meeney who took up this role in May 2024 after rejoining on the CoM in February 2022 where he has been the Detective Superintendent for the CoM Central.

David began his career in GMP in 2006 after obtaining a LLB with Honours in Law. He was posted to the Neighbourhood Policing Team at Moss Side and Hulme before moving into the CID at Longsight in 2009. His career then progressed into a number of roles in the Serious Crime Division and he was seconded to the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit for 2 ½ years before rejoining the City of Manchester in 2022.

Helen started her career in Tameside in 2003. She has worked in a number of branch roles across Force Intelligence and the Serious Crime Division, including economic and cyber-crime. In the last four years she has worked as a Superintendent, she has led teams across the City of Manchester and Stockport.

Kirsty began her career at Collyhurst Police Station in 2005 and has worked a variety of roles at GMP since. Having a background in vulnerability and partnership working she was posted as Detective Chief Inspector to the Challenger Partnership and later the Serious Organised Crime Group, and most recently she was the Director of Intelligence for GMP.

Chief Superintendent Clare Jenkins currently oversees the Wigan and Leigh District.

Clare joined GMP in March 2024 after being an officer at Merseyside Police for 23 years.

Clare has been a Wigan resident for 35 years and is passionate about serving the public, looking after victims and vulnerable persons, and bringing offenders to justice.

Her priorities for the district include enhancing response times, reducing crime demand, and elevating investigation standards.

Zeashan (Shan) joined GMP at Rochdale in 1999. He spent 13 years on the COM as a Sergeant and Inspector, in a mixture of Response and Neighbourhood roles. On promotion to Chief Inspector, he was posted to Trafford, part of which was during the COVD period and a unique time for policing. On promotion to Superintendent, he was posted to Stockport for nearly two years then Salford. He became District Commander for Tameside in November 2025.

As director of Forensic Services, Neil has overall responsibility for the leadership, performance and direction of Forensic Services across GMP. He reports directly to the ACC Crime, Intelligence and Forensics who is the designated senior accountable individual (SAI) in accordance with the regulator’s statutory Code of Practice. A key part of Neil’s role is aligning forensics with force priorities. This means setting the strategic direction while ensuring our services consistently support investigations, improve criminal justice outcomes and maintain public confidence. He also represents GMP at regional and national levels, ensuring Forensic Services is well positioned within national police reform.

Jo qualified as a solicitor in 2004; joining GMP in 2006 initially as a Solicitor in the Operational Policing team.  She moved to the Civil Litigation Unit in 2010 as a Senior Solicitor handling a range of claims presented against the Force. 

She then left GMP in 2012 to move to Hill Dickinson LLP as a Senior Associate, before joining Lancashire Police as Head of Legal Services in May 2017.  Jo re-joined GMP in April 2022 as Branch Head.  

Jo has advised and represented a diverse range of clients during her career and has handled several high profile and stated cases for both GMP and Lancashire Police. 

Steph joined Greater Manchester Police in 2008, starting her policing career in the Information Services Branch. She has worked in a variety of roles across Information Technology and Information Management and was appointed as Head of Information Management Branch in 2022.

Prior to working for Greater Manchester Police, Steph worked in the education sector and is a qualified Data Protection Practitioner.

Steph is passionate about the value of information across policing and beyond, and is a strong advocate for upholding individuals information rights.