New police commander appointed for Cherwell area

Thames Valley Police have appointed Superintendent Emma Garside as the new commander for the Cherwell and West Oxfordshire Local Policing Area (LPA).

Supt Garside returned to the LPA, taking over as commander from Supt Mark Johns, who is retiring.

Supt Garside joined Thames Valley Police in 1996 and has worked in a range of roles across response, neighbourhood and investigations functions.

As a sergeant, she led on innovative work to create Thames Valley Police’s first multi-agency offender management team and as a neighbourhood inspector was commended for the work she led on police engagement with rural communities.

More recently, she was the deputy head of the force’s Criminal Justice Department and deputy commander at Cherwell and West Oxon.

Supt Garside has spent the last 14 months leading a tri-force business change team working across Surrey and Sussex, but recently returned to lead on the force’s business continuity response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supt Garside said: “I am delighted to be returning to the LPA where I spent two years working as a deputy commander and feel very proud to be taking over an excellent team of officers and staff who strive day in, day out, to make Cherwell and West Oxon a safe place to live and work.

“My focus will be on doing all I can to make their jobs easier and support them in delivering a quality service to our communities.

"I live locally in the LPA with my two daughters and look forward to the opportunity to make a positive difference, meeting new people and catching up with many of you whom I have previously had the pleasure of working alongside. I wish Supt Johns well in his retirement.

“Our focus will continue to be on community engagement, increasing positive outcomes for our investigations and relentlessly targeting those who cause the most harm to the most vulnerable people in our communities.”