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Sue Sim, the first woman to head a metropolitan police force, is 'determined to reduce crime despite tough financial cuts'
Sue Sim, the senior officer who fronted Northumbria police's operations during the manhunt for Raoul Moat, has been appointed head of the force.
She becomes the first woman to head a metropolitan police force, with Northumbria's patch including Newcastle and the Tyne conurbations, as well as the countryside towards the Scottish border where the killer was tracked down.
The local police authority put aside traditional doubts about selecting a candidate who has held a succession of senior posts within a force – a caveat designed to avoid "empire-building".
Sim was serving as acting chief constable during the week-long hunt for Moat, and won praise for handling difficult challenges over tactics and the use of a Taser stungun just before the fugitive's suicide.
She has developed a tough hide with the media in her role as lead officer for public order and public safety. After the death of newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson at the 2009 G20 protests in London, she described some coverage as one-sided and deprecated "trial by press".
Married with two children, she previously served as assistant chief constable of Northumbria after moving from north-west England, where she spent 19 years in the Merseyside force. She was appointed deputy chief in July 2008 and made temporary head of the force in April last year when her predecessor, Mike Craik, retired.
Home Office advice that the career path should not rule her out of contention was backed by local support for her track record, including the Moat episode. Officers were under internal, as well as public, pressure to catch the gunman, who shot and blinded a patrol car driver, PC David Rathband, as part of a vendetta against the force.
Mick Henry, chair of Northumbria police authority, said: "Our task in selecting a new chief constable was a difficult one. But I feel we have the ideal person to lead Northumbria Police, following a thorough and robust process involving two other excellent candidates.
"We know Sue Sim is a highly capable, widely respected and experienced police officer and her obvious skills and expertise will enable us to face the challenges ahead. The police authority was particularly impressed with her commitment to protecting frontline policing across Northumbria and delivering police services local people want."
One of the new chief's hardest tasks will be seeing through a tighter budget, with an estimated 1,100 job losses, while maintaining frontline policing. Sim said: "I am determined that we will continue to reduce crime and protect police services that local communities across Northumbria want, despite the tough financial cuts."
Sim's previous experience includes operational command of two Grand Nationals and heading the police side during a judicial review and hunger strike involving Ian Brady, the moors murderer. She was awarded the Queen's police medal in the New Year Honours List last year.
Meanwhile, a woman denied a public order offence on Thursday after she was accused of shouting "bang bang" at PC David Rathband. Kelsey Donkin, 22, from Sunderland, allegedly also made a two-fingered gun gesture when she saw the officer outside Newcastle crown court on 2 March.
Rathband was attending the trial of two of Moat's accomplices. Donkin was understood to be at the court supporting a friend involved in another case.
At Newcastle magistrates' court, she pleaded not guilty to a public order offence of causing Rathband harassment or distress. Her trial will take place on 27 June.