A former teaching assistant has been appointed as the first female Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire.
Sara Jayne Munton, who was selected by Conservative PCC Marc Jones, has been appointed to fulfil the role, write local democracy reporter James Turner. She replaces Phillip Clark, who resigned in March.
Clark’s sudden departure remains shrouded in controversy following a police investigation into an altercation at a pub near Lincoln.
Mrs Munton, 36, appeared before the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Panel on Friday morning, where councillors from Lincolnshire County Council and the seven district councils questioned her on her priorities, her experience, and how she would scrutinise the PCC’s decision-making.
During the proceedings, she highlighted her work as the Police Now Force Partnerships area manager for Northern England and Wales, her role as an independent advisory group member for Lincolnshire, and her position as the independent chair for the Violence Against Women and Girls Voices group.
Sara also cited addressing violence against women and girls and engaging with young people as two key projects she is eager to start working on.
Confident in the candidate’s skills and abilities, the panel unanimously decided to endorse Sara as the new Deputy PCC with a salary of £48,500 per year.
“I think my roles and experiences up until now have led to this unexpected appointment,” said Sara. “I didn’t know this would be an opportunity I was able to do, but with my work across policing and education and partnership management and the experience of holding people to account and exploring excellent ideas to improve their outcomes for the people of Lincolnshire, I think all of those things together will make me an incredibly effective deputy.
“I do not have any lived experience of violence against women and girls but I have worked with people who do and understand how it impacts well-being and physical health, how it affects how you communicate with people and how it affects your quality of life.
“A lot of police forces are working with communities to be better because we know that’s what we need to do.
So I think that it’s really important for me to improve the outcomes for those people so that they feel heard, and to improve trust and confidence in that space, to essentially decrease the amount of violence against women and girls within Lincolnshire and nationally.”
Mrs Munton addressed the residents of Lincolnshire, insisting that she looks forward to working with various communities across the county in her role.
“If a community feels they are not represented in decision-making, we want to engage with those people, even if it’s a community we’re not aware of. Approach us. We want to work with people who want to make things better but judge me by my actions, and I’m looking forward to that happening.”
PCC Jones said: “A deputy is somebody that isn’t just an employee in the team. They do need to be able to actually deliver specific bits of work but actually it’s somebody that can walk into a room and they can take that role of commissioner on their shoulders while I’m not there, and that is not a small thing to ask anybody to do.
“Equally, that’s a big responsibility, not just for the person, but also for me, to impart to somebody else, because you are trusting them to get those decisions right and to be there making those decisions on your behalf.
“It is a large responsibility, and I’ve got a high level of confidence that Sara has demonstrated over her career an understanding of how to make important, strategic decisions while understanding and having empathy with the community.”
