Chief Constable Lisa Winward Announces Forthcoming Retirement

Chief Constable Winward said:

“I am immensely proud to have been a police officer and public servant for 30 years, and it has been an absolute privilege and honour to serve as the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police for over five years.

“My heartfelt appreciation goes to each and every member of our team here at North Yorkshire Police who consistently display relentless dedication and hard work to keep our communities safe and feeling safe. North Yorkshire is truly an amazing place full of lovely people and I can think of no better place to have served during my policing career.

“It was a very difficult decision to make but I feel that the time is right for me to retire. I will still be here for several months and look forward to saying goodbyes in person to as many people as possible who I have had the privilege to meet during my time in policing.” 

Chief Constable Winward began her policing journey as a volunteer Special Constable in York. Following service through the ranks of Constable through to Chief Inspector for Humberside Police, Lisa resumed her service to North Yorkshire in 2008, serving the City of York as Chief Inspector, Superintendent and Commander between 2009 and 2013.

Lisa has served with distinction in key roles at the heart of North Yorkshire Police including Executive Officer to the then-Chief Constable, Head of Uniformed Operations, Major Crime, Specialist Operations, Criminal Justice, and Force Intelligence.

She has led corporate change programmes and has demonstrated her vision for partnership and multi-agency collaboration throughout her service.

After leading the local policing portfolio as Assistant Chief Constable throughout 2016, in February 2017 she became Deputy Chief Constable at North Yorkshire Police.

On 15 August 2018, Lisa was confirmed as Chief Constable. Her vision and passion for understanding and addressing the root causes of crime and disorder in communities has been a hallmark of her tenure as Chief, positioning North Yorkshire Police to play its part in early-intervention, and working seamlessly with partner organisations to help the residents of York and North Yorkshire be safe and feel safe.

Lisa is a graduate of the FBI’s National Academy development programme in leadership and policing, and during her time as a chief officer has been the lead on a number of national portfolios, including Citizens in Policing, Women’s Health, and Menopause. She is a trustee for the Police Treatment Centre and the chair of the Board of Trustees for the British Police Symphony Orchestra. She currently leads for the National Police Chief’s Council on Intelligence, Local Policing and Senior Assessment, and in 2022 was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for distinguished policing service.

Paying tribute to Chief Constable Winward, Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe said:

“On behalf of the public, and personally, I would like to thank Chief Constable Lisa Winward for her distinguished service to our communities and to North Yorkshire Police, her dedication of over 30 years of public service and collaboration has shone through whilst serving as a leader here at North Yorkshire Police and I feel privileged to have spent time working alongside such a remarkable individual.  I know all of us here in York and North Yorkshire wish Lisa well in her future plans.” 

An announcement about the arrangements for appointing Chief Constable Winward’s successor will be made in due course.