Conclusion

In November 2016 Andy Cooke, Chief Constable of Merseyside, rather provocatively entitled his first Annual Lecture 'Lions led by donkeys?'. Cooke went on to argue that such a depiction was unwarranted in respect of present-day Chief Constables especially, as Brain's final chapter highlighted, given the complex and challenging nature of the role. The history of Chief Constables in the United Kingdom is undeniably a fascinating but chequered one, littered with many successes and in some cases attracting inevitable controversy. Chief Constable Cooke was also deeply critical of the fact that, as with many other public services delivery, over the last few years policing has been driven by a performance culture, dominated by a politically figures-driven agenda where no senior police leader wants to find themselves under the spotlight. Cooke concluded his lecture by stating that trust - both within the force and outside - is the key to successful future policing.