Devon & Cornwall Police
Executive Team

Shaun Sawyer was appointed Chief Constable for Devon & Cornwall Police in February 2013.

Mr Sawyer has served within Specialist Operations (Counter Terrorism) and Territorial Policing. From 2005 to 2007 he was the Met Police lead for covert operations and intelligence combating serious and organised crime and terrorism. In 2008 he was appointed Head of Counter Terrorism within Scotland Yard with both national and international responsibilities. His current portfolios include being the national policing lead for the crime business area covering standards, training and competencies as well as modern slavery, organised immigration crime and migration related matters. He also leads the national initiative for police cadets.

The Chief Constable is the most senior police officer in Devon & Cornwall Police and is responsible for the delivery of operational policing. is accountable to the public and the PCC but is operationally independent and free from political interference. However the Chief Constable must perform their duties in a way that reasonably assists the PCC. Whilst the PCC appoints the Chief Constable, they are not their employer. The Chief Constable is a corporation sole and a servant of the Crown.

The Chief Constable has overall responsibility for the performance of Devon & Cornwall Police, its officers and staff and the use of police resources and finances.

Jim joined the Force in 2001 at a age of 27 as a bobby on the beat in Plymouth after graduating from Leicester University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications and Sociology and a post-graduate Diploma in Security and Risk Management. With extensive experience as a senior detective and one of the Force’s key investigating officers, he has a meticulous eye for detail and is proactive in driving a high quality policing service to the communities of Devon and Cornwall. He is known for his thorough investigative skills and for leading investigations into high profile cases such as a fatal speedboat incident in Padstow, as well as coordinating the initial response to numerous major incidents including homicides and kidnaps across the Force. He was promoted to Chief Superintendent in April 2016, where he took on the role of BCU Commander for Devon. He was then temporarily promoted to Assistant Chief Constable in January 2018, with responsibility for Local Policing and Connectivity. In July 2019 Jim was promoted to the substantive Assistant Chief Constable role, this time with responsibility for Innovation, Contact and Demand. He has also specialised in leading the south west region in responding to modern slavery and human trafficking. Jim was born in Manchester but spent his early childhood in West Africa, before returning to the UK at the age of eight years. He has a passion for running and football and has travelled extensively throughout the Caribbean, including negotiating the Panama Canal numerous times having worked on cruise ships in his youth. In his spare time he enjoys coaching youth football and chasing after his two young sons.

Jim has been in Devon & Cornwall Police for 25 years, having served in both counties and currently works closely with Dorset Police, as both forces move towards a merger. He leads on the strategic alliance between both forces and is charged with making sure the forces work together to improve delivery, resilience and flexibility, whilst saving money and improving efficiency.

He is also responsible for tri service collaboration with the fire service and ambulance service, and is also the lead for the police response mental health in crisis across the region. Finally Jim oversees the full upgrade of the force ICT infrastructure and public contact strategy.

Operationally Jim is a strategic firearms commander and a public order commander.

Away from Devon and Cornwall Police Jim is the chair of trustees for the road safety charity @HonestTruthUk; is a board member of @Active Devon and is chair of the UK seaport Police Commanders Group.

Steve Parker joined Devon and Cornwall Police in 1994, spending the early part of his service in uniform and detective roles predominantly in the Plymouth area. He subsequently became one of the cadre of force senior investigating officers, leading complex investigations across the Devon and Cornwall area.  He has specialised in homicide and public protection investigations, and attained PIP3 and PIP4 accreditation.  He is a member of the National PIP4 Working Group.  Alongside this he was the force representative on child and adult safeguarding partnerships, and has been involved in a number of multi-agency initiatives.  This included the development of the first Sexual Assault Referral Centre in the force area, based in Plymouth.  Steve has led a number of force projects including the implementation of the Safeguarding Vulnerable People Review.   In 2017 Steve was promoted to Detective Chief Superintendent as Commander Crime & Criminal Justice, leading teams that delivered specialist crime investigation services, intelligence functions and criminal justice processes.  In December 2020 he was appointed Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Innovation, Contact and Demand. 

Glen Mayhew has served his entire policing career within Devon & Cornwall Police, holding command roles in Partnership, BCU, Crime and Operations.

As Temporary ACC Operations he is responsible for the Force’s capability for operational policing, specifically including specialist capabilities and strategic policing requirements.

Glen is an experienced public order and firearms commander and is on the national cadre for specialist and high risk firearms operations.

Glen also remains an active Hostage and Crisis negotiator and is both Force and South West regional lead. He has previously been part of the internal cadre for hostage negotiation.

Within the region, Glen leads on firearms, public order and public safety, CBRNe, mobilisation and mutual aid and is the chair of the Local Resilience Forum (LRF).

He is the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) capability manager for Search & Rescue, which involves working with all agencies and volunteer groups in the UK to provide a land based search and rescue service.

Outside of work, Glen is an active surf lifeguard and is a board member on Surf Life Saving Great Britain.

Julie Fielding started her service with Devon and Cornwall Police in 1993 working in Exeter. Over the next 24 years, she worked in a number of operational roles across Devon and Cornwall including patrol, CID, public protection, intelligence and specialist investigations. Julie worked as Detective Inspector in both Public Protection and CID where she undertook the role of Senior Investigating Officer for a variety of serious crime investigations. Julie was promoted to Detective Superintendent for Investigation in Devon in 2011 managing and leading on crime investigations.   In 2012 she was promoted to Chief Superintendent BCU Commander for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, leading operational policing and partnership work to tackle crime and vulnerability. As Chair of the Community Safety Partnership, she led the partnership response to crime and harm ensuring improvements to domestic abuse services and tackling anti-social behaviour. Julie worked with key partners across the County and led on a review of public sector estate in the County, enabling partners to co-locate to improve services. Julie became the Commander for Crime and Justice in 2016 with responsibility for custody and criminal justice, major and serious organised crime, intelligence, public protection and covert authorities.  Julie qualified as a Strategic Firearms Commander in 2013 and has commanded a number of firearms incidents over the past eight years. She is an accredited public order commander and a qualified multi agency incident Gold Commander, leading on a number of events.    In 2016 Julie successfully passed the national chief officer selection process and in October 2017, Julie was promoted to Assistant Chief Constable in Dorset Police where she led operational policing, HR, partnerships and transformation. In November 2020 she joined Devon and Cornwall Police as Assistant Chief Constable for Local Policing and Partnerships.   Throughout her service Julie has maintained her strong interest in delivering the best service possible for victims of crime and protecting people who are vulnerable. Julie is recognised as a leader who supports and develops people and promotes wellbeing in the workplace. Working with Professor John Harrison, she was instrumental in developing the Devon and Cornwall approach to wellbeing, work which won external awards. Julie graduated from Exeter University in 2013 as MBA (Merit).

Sandy Goscomb is the Director of Finance and Resources and has worked for Devon & Cornwall Police since August 2008.

Her responsibilities include overseeing the Force budget and ensuring proper financial administration and control of what is spent and received. In addition, she is the executive lead for ICT, the 1000 strong vehicle fleet, administration across the force and a four force regional procurement unit.

Sandy’s career has always been with policing, a service she is proud to work for. Prior to working for Devon & Cornwall Police, she was Head of Finance at Dorset Police.

Sandy is a qualified accountant and chartered secretary. She is married and lives in Devon.

Alexis joined the Metropolitan Police as an Intelligence Analyst in 1999 having completed a law degree. Whilst in the Met she gained a Masters degree part time and worked on a knowledge sharing programme with the South African Police.

Seeking an opportunity to develop her research skills she joined the Police Research Group at the Home Office in 2003 as a Senior Research Officer. She worked on many projects including the evaluation of the National Reassurance Policing Project.

In 2005 she joined Devon & Cornwall Police as Principal Intelligence Analyst. She then became Head of Performance and Analysis, leading on performance management, strategic intelligence analysis, public, victim and staff consultation, Internal inspection, planning, and risk management.

She has led change programmes transforming support functions and approaches to responding to demand. She sat on the NPCC Performance Management Co-ordinating committee and was the NPCC representative for demand on the Home Office Technical Reference Group for the Funding Formula Review.

In 2018 she completed the Strategic Command Course.

In December 2019 Alexis took up the post of Assistant Chief Officer – People and is now the NPCC Lead for Neurodiversity.

Mike Stamp was appointed Director of Legal Services in September 2006, with his role developing into the Director of Legal, Reputation and Risk in 2015. His portfolio includes Legal Services in Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, and Information Management and Corporate Communications in Devon and Cornwall.

The Legal Services team provide legal advice and representation to both Forces and their Police and Crime Commissioners. Their work includes litigation (employment, civil, inquest, misconduct and judicial review), operations (civil preventative orders, licensing, public order) and general advice (duty advisor scheme for day to day legal queries, critical incident advice, and strategic advice). Members of the team regularly appear in a range of Courts to represent the interests of the Chief Constables and/or Police and Crime Commissioners.

Mike and his team regularly sit on Gold and Silver groups, which are responsible for the management of critical incidents.

As the member of the Executive with portfolio responsibility for Information Management, Mike holds the position of the Senior Information Responsible Officer on behalf of Devon and Cornwall and Dorset.

In addition, the Information Management department is responsible for Data Protection, Freedom of Information, Disclosure, Information Assurance and information sharing with partner agencies for both Devon and Cornwall and Dorset.   The Alliance Information Management Department is also responsible for Records Management and Data Quality within Devon and Cornwall.

Mike also undertakes the role as Joint Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) for Devon and Cornwall and Dorset.

The Corporate Communications department covers internal and external communications including reputation management and digital media.

Mike sits on the national committee for the Association of Police Lawyers and chairs the Devon and Cornwall Police and Dorset Joint Ethics Committee and is also the co-chair of the South West Policing Regional Ethics Committee.

Mike is a qualified Solicitor, married with children and lives in Devon.