Published: 20 July 2021 at 10:53
After retiring as the Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary and National Policing Lead for Child Protection, I feel humbled and privileged to have been asked to succeed Nick Alston as the Chair of PIER.
I have been a board member for the last four years and I have seen Nick, Sam and the team develop the PIER brand and ARU become one of the market leaders in the field of child sexual abuse and exploitation research.
I am passionate about improving how public sector partners, government and the 3rd sector respond to the abuse of children and at PIER I believe we have the opportunity to work with them, key stakeholders and academics to research and build an evidence base to improve outcomes for victims and colleagues working in the field. More research also needs to be done to improve criminal justice outcomes and the management of the ever growing number of sex offenders.
These issues are undoubtedly some of the most significant and pernicious societal challenges facing us in the 21st century and they are only going to get worse, that is why the work of the PIER team is so important and in my role as chair I hope to add real value to their endeavours and to build on the foundations that have been built by my predecessor. I cannot wait to start in September and I am looking forward to the start of a new career in an area I feel so strongly about.
Simon Bailey