Joanne McGregor-Taylor

I am a recently retired police officer from Durham Constabulary after fulfilling my 30 years service. In that time, I have had a varied career, predominantly in the investigation field, both in reactive and proactive teams. I have also worked in safeguarding and in specialist covert investigative roles. I transferred into Offender Management in 2015 where I finished my police career. I am also a fully qualified trainer with a Cert Ed and other training qualifications including specialist interviewing, diversity and general police training. In addition to that, I am a qualified NLP master practitioner. Since joining the offender management department, I was the supervisor & I managed a team of staff. I am proud to have played a pivotal part in designing/implementing the outstanding Checkpoint programme which was a very different & innovative policing approach to working with offenders, focusing on prevention rather than cure offering early intervention - Checkpoint gives offenders the opportunity to do something to change and break the cycle of offending. It also offers a bespoke victim service, giving them an often unheard voice in offender rehabilitation too. Being involved with Checkpoint has been a rewarding part of my 32 years police career. I was lucky to have been given autonomy to interview and choose the navigators for the team & I ensured the highest quality assurance. I regularly liaised with other organisations, gathering and sharing information where appropriate and ensuring a multi-agency approach. With Checkpoint, we won several national & international awards, including the Goldstein Award and Howard League Penal Reform Award to name a few. I have been a key speaker at national and international conferences showcasing Checkpoint to other organisations which I am sure will stand me on good stead in my new challenge as a police trainer at North Yorkshire Police!