Chairperson and Board Members appointed to the Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust

Date published: 16 May 2019

The Department of Justice has appointed Michele Larmour as the new Chairperson of the Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust (PRRT).

Graphic for DoJNI news

Carol Ackah and Bernie McCrory have been appointed as new Board Members and Oliver Wilkinson has been reappointed as a Board Member.

The appointments have been made following an open competition regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments Northern Ireland.  The appointees will take up office today. 

Peter May, Permanent Secretary, Department of Justice said:I would like to congratulate Michele, Carol and Bernie on their appointment and Oliver on his reappointment to PRRT. Together they bring a wealth of experience to these important roles and I wish them every success for their term of office."

Mr May added: “I would like to place on record my thanks to the former Chairperson, Ken Millar, and Board Members Brenda Maitland and Maynard Mawhinney for their personal commitment and contribution to the work of PRRT over the last four years.”

PRRT is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) of the Department of Justice.  It provides psychological therapies, physiotherapy, coaching and development, training and education programmes (in accordance with assessed needs) to support: police officers retiring from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), or the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC (RUC GC); and other justice partners.

Notes to editors: 

1. PRRT comprises a Chairperson and six Board Members all of whom are appointed by the Department of Justice.  Of the six Board Members, one is nominated by the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and two are nominated by the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, subject to the approval of the Department.

2. The procedure for these appointments is compliant with the Commissioner for Public Appointments Northern Ireland (CPANI) Code of Practice. The appointments are made by the Department of Justice taking account of its statutory duty under the PRRT Regulations 2014.

3. The appointments will commence on 16 May 2019.  The Chairperson and one Board Member post is for a period of four years and the other two Board Member posts are for a period of three years.  Remuneration for the Chairperson is £10,000 per annum and for Board Members it is £5,000 per annum, with the exception of the statutory nominees who are unremunerated.

4. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of appointees to be published.  Details of the declaration in relation to political activity are included below.

5. All media enquiries should be directed to the Department of Justice Press Office 028 9052 6444.  Out of office hours please contact the duty press officer via pager number 028 9037 8110 and your call will be returned.

6. Pen pictures

Mrs Michele Larmour

Mrs Larmour is an experienced executive leader, with over 31 years’ service in UK policing, leaving in 2017 as Assistant Chief Constable, West Midlands Police.  Since then she has been appointed Visiting Fellow in Policing with the Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences, Birmingham City University, Assessor with the College of Policing and performed External Expert in the selection of Chief Superintendents in An Garda Síochána.  Previously Mrs Larmour served over 28 years policing Northern Ireland from July 1986, as an officer in the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC and then the Police Service of Northern Ireland.   

Mrs Larmour is an active mentor and coach, championing diversity.  In 2018, she completed accreditation in Coaching.  From 2016 she has been a member of Birmingham Metropolitan College Board and Audit and Risk Committee.  Mrs Larmour has a BSc (Hons) Degree in Policing and Police Studies, was rated a top performer on the National Strategic Command Course and has completed the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Leadership Programme.

Political Activity:  None

Dr Carol Ackah

Dr Ackah is a consultant specialising in Human Resource Management and Employee Relations.  She had a management career in the health service and at the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, prior to becoming a Lecturer in HRM at Ulster University for 15 years.  Dr Ackah previously served as a Non-Executive Director on the board of Northern Health & Social Care Trust and as a Commissioner on the Local Government Staff Commission.  She is currently a panel member on the Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal and a lay member on the Statutory Committee of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland.  Dr Ackah is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) and obtained a PhD from the London School of Economics.

Political Activity:  None

Mrs Bernie McCrory

Mrs McCrory was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Co-operation and Working Together (CAWT) in February 2006 and she has responsibility for leading and developing cross border health and social care provision between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on behalf of the CAWT Partnership.  She has worked in the Health and Social Care Service for more than 35 years, mainly in Acute Services as a Hospital Manager/Business Manager with Sperrin Lakeland Trust and as Directorate Manager for Surgery and Critical Care at the Altnagelvin group of hospitals.  Mrs McCrory also lectured in Law and Business on a part-time basis with Queens University of Belfast for 10 years. She has two primary degrees in Public Administration/Law (BA Hons) and Social Sciences/Education (BA Open). She also has a MBA and a Master of Laws (LLM) and a postgraduate certificate in University Teaching (PGCUT).

Political Activity:  None

Mr Oliver Wilkinson

Mr Wilkinson is semi-retired and works as a Registered Intermediary.  He was previously a Board member of the Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust until the end of March 2019.  Mr Wilkinson is the Chair of the Victims and Survivors Service and Honorary Secretary of Healing Through Remembering, which is a voluntary sector organisation.

Political Activity:  None

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