Whitelands Conversations with AC Louisa Rolfe
This year, Whitelands College celebrates its 180th anniversary. To mark the anniversary, the College is hosting a number of virtual events and activities for students and staff and on Wednesday 31 March, the third conversation was held with Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe OBE.
AC Louisa Rolfe is a British senior police officer. From 2016 to 2020 she was Deputy Chief Constable of West Midlands Police and now serves as Assistant Commissioner (AC) in the Metropolitan Police. Rolfe received an OBE in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to policing. Ms Rolfe's career in policing began at Avon and Somerset Constabulary where, over 25 years, she rose from a neighbourhood police constable to become one of the country's most senior female officers.
At Avon and Somerset Constabulary she led on development of a regional organised crime unit and counter terrorism intelligence unit in the South West, a two-force major crime investigation team, and a tri-force response to roads policing, firearms and dogs alongside the Wiltshire and Gloucestershire forces. Passionate about diversity and equality issues, she also helped increase representation of women officers in senior positions.
She joined West Midlands Police as deputy chief constable in February 2016, where she oversaw the force's WMP2020 change programme, which featured 33 individual projects designed to make the force more agile when fighting crime and more accessible to the public. She led the UK police response to the 'Everyone's Business' report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, which focused on improving the response to domestic abuse survivors, urging forces to prioritise domestic abuse and securing substantial improvements across the service. She is also the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for domestic abuse.
The full conversation with AC Louisa Rolfe can be viewed below. Thank you to Dr R. David Muir, Head of Whitelands College, for arranging this event, and to our guest speaker Assistant Constable Louisa Rolfe for her presentation.
Whitelands Conversations with Fleur Anderson MP
This year, Whitelands College celebrates its 180th anniversary. The College was founded by the Church of England to educate women for the teaching profession. To mark the anniversary, the College is hosting a number of virtual events and activities for students and staff. On Thursday 28 January (10.30 am -11.00 am), we held our first Whitelands Conversations with the local MP Fleur Anderson. The Conversations are intended to be user-friendly chats/conversations with leaders in civil society, education, politics, religion, business, and the arts. In thirty minutes, guests will be asked a series of questions about the journey into their chosen profession. To view please click the link below.
Whitelands Conversations with Dr Leroy Logan MBE
On Wednesday 24 February, we hosted our second Whitelands Conversations with Dr Leroy Logan MBE. Dr Logan has had an illustrious and challenging career in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). As a former superintendent in the Metropolitan Police, Leroy is one of UK's most highly decorated and well-known black police officers. A highly respected and well-regarded commentator on policing in black communities, he believes that there is still much work to do in creating a more equitable and fair criminal justice system. He retired in 2013 after 30 years' service. He is also a former chair and founding member of the Black Police Association. Star Wars actor John Boyega played Leroy in 'Red, White and Blue' – an episode of 12 Years A Slave Director Sir Steve McQueen's iconic anthology, Small Axe. Commenting on Leroy's career in the MPS, the Oscar Award-winning Director McQueen said: 'I was amazed and intrigued by the way Leroy had stood his ground and progressed within the Metropolitan Police against so many obstacles: hostility, outright racism and being repeatedly overlooked for promotion.' Dr Logan will talk about his life and career in the Metropolitan Police Service and about his new book (Closing Ranks: My Life as a Cop).
