Former Staffordshire councillor becomes new Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner

Helen Fisher, who represented Lichfield’s Burntwood South division until she stood down at the May elections, will serve alongside fellow ex-county councillor Ben Adams, who was elected Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner last month.

Her appointment received unanimous backing from members of the Police, Fire and Crime Panel at their Monday meeting.

Mrs Fisher, who was cabinet member for highways and transport during her time as a county councillor, returned to the chamber at Stafford’s County Buildings to answer questions about her new role from panel members before they discussed her appointment.

She said: “I haven’t always been in public service. I started my working life as a professional musician and then in the 90s with my first husband set up a car repairs business that is still going strong in Cannock, so I’ve got a fairly robust background in business. I’m not part of that business any more

“I have a 25-year-old daughter and I’m now married to a Stokie. My council life started in 2007; I was elected onto Burntwood Town Council and Lichfield District Council.

“On Burntwood Town Council I was deputy leader a couple of times and I was leader for the year before I became a county councillor. On Lichfield District Council I held two cabinet roles.

“I thoroughly enjoyed that – local politics is what it’s all about, knowing your local area, and I represented the area I grew up in.

“I’m very humbled and proud to have been asked to do this job. It isn’t something that I aspired to, so it came as a bit of a surprise when the commissioner asked me.

“I think I’ll be good at it, I think I will help make a difference. We have got some fantastic officers and I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in.

“I want to meet the organisations that we fund and I want to meet everybody involved in the police and fire service. I think it’s only when you start to talk to those members of the forces that you really learn what’s going on.

“It’s a steep learning curve at the moment. We have got a 100-day plan, of which we will have hopefully learned everything we need to, and this is the start of week six so we have only scratched the surface.”

Panel member Councillor Stephen Sweeney said: “The previous Police and Crime Commissioner was very much the face of the office. I met his deputy once in all the years I have been on this council.

“Would you envisage your role being more public-facing than supporting Ben in a behind the scenes way?”

Mrs Fisher responded: “I would like to be a deputy in all sense of the word, even though I’m only going to be working for three days a week. I will be leading on certain things, but I think it is important for me to be able to see what goes on in the whole of the Commissioner’s world.

“If the Commissioner wants me to be more public that is absolutely fine, I can do that. We have a big patch and for us to split up and go and do things is the sensible way. If we go around together it’s going to take us twice as long to get round everybody.

“It’s not just about me, it’s about everybody that lives in Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent. I would like more people to understand the work that the Commissioner’s Office does and the role of the Commissioner.

“We commission millions of pounds’ worth of services to the people of Staffordshire and for a lot of those people, until they’re in trouble, either through their fault or not their fault, it’s only then that you need those services.

“For a lot of people they probably don’t realise that it’s not just about holding the police force to account – it’s a whole other thing. At the moment we’re just learning about these wonderful organisations, they’re life-changing organisations you go to at your absolute lowest point.”

Mr Adams told panel members the deputy’s role was “absolutely huge”.

He added: “I don’t think it is in any way appropriate for a commissioner to try and do it on their own. I don’t have all the experience and skills to do it as well as I might with a good deputy.

“I was very pleased to have some very positive conversations with Helen Fisher some time ago – as you know the election was delayed for a year. My ambition was to have someone working alongside me who shared my ambition to keep the place safe, who could speak to the public, who could work in partnership and understood the public sector and had experience of key things like understanding numbers, what’s important and being able to persuade people to make change.

“I hope you will find her as capable and pleasant to work with as I do. I absolutely recommend her.”