A woman of some importance

TO the assembled pack of newshounds waiting, pens and microphones at the ready, it seemed that a real cracker of a story was just bursting to unfold in the splendour of the grand committee room in Northallerton's County Hall.

For, sitting at the press conference was one of the beleaguered Cleveland Police force's most senior officers, someone who had been in the very thick of the extraordinary Operation Lancet saga, preparing to speak for the first time about her decision to leave for pastures new.

After years of allegation and counter-allegation, bitter public feuds, millions of pounds spent on a heavily criticised anti-corruption inquiry, the question just had to be asked: "Are you glad to be leaving Cleveland Police?"

But, as was found out, fierce loyalty is just one of the admirable qualities that Della Cannings, 49, will be bringing to her new landmark role as the first female Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police. The only other female chief constables are in charge of the Dorset, Wiltshire and the Devon and Cornwall forces, making a total of just four out of the country's 44 constabularies.

"I found it very professionally challenging. There are unchartered waters I have gone through and experiences I have gone through that will give me the basis to be even more professional as a chief constable," she replies.

Her two-and-a-half year stint with Cleveland was undoubtedly professionally challenging - indeed it is fair to say the force was going through the most turbulent period in its history. At the height of the controversy surrounding the suspension of former head of CID and new Middlesbrough mayor, Ray Mallon, hardly a day went by without another damning headline screaming from the front pages, another criticism to defend.

The media frenzy is a sore point to Ms Cannings, who was at the centre of the fall-out from the long-running saga, setting up a string of internal disciplinary hearings.

"Policing wherever you are is challenging. Trying to balance financial resources against increasing demands is challenging. And it is challenging when the media gives a misleading impression of what is going on," she says. "The balance was not as it should have been - they need a headline and that can raise concerns in people's minds."

More recently, she has been overseeing the inquiry into embarrassing allegations that two Cleveland Police officers were caught on camera urinating near the Lithuanian presidential palace.

But, in October, all that will be put behind her as she takes charge in North Yorkshire, where the reputation of the county's police force has been enhanced beyond recognition since the sexist initiation scandal of the mid-1990s.

In the darker days, two North Yorkshire police officers were disciplined over their handling of allegations of sexual harassment and initiation rights at Harrogate CID in 1996. But this is a new-look police force, one which only last year announced that it employed two transsexual officers and recently scooped a national award for diversity.

And while Ms Cannings plays down her status as the first female to hold the top post, she is keen for her phenomenal career success to inspire other women in the force.

"I have found from my experience that the chances are there and, if they choose to take them, they can climb the ladder - and it's perhaps no longer a greasy pole," she says. "I have always recognised since I became a sergeant in 1979 that I am a role model to others within the organisation. I know from my work in Cleveland that it is important to show to other women officers that they can get to the top."

Further enhancing the force's image will be crucial. "We as a force have to be representative of the communities that we police," she says. "We need that breadth of experience that people have. We need to be representative of ethnic minority groups and different sexual orientation."

Ms Cannings is one of 17 new chief constables expected to be appointed across the country this year - and according to the North Yorkshire Police Authority, she beat off an exceptional bunch of candidates for the job. Authority chairman Jane Kenyon says: "The successful candidate must not only provide the right policing style for the people of this area, but must also be the right calibre of person to lead the force and to develop it as a premier public service. We are convinced that Della Cannings is the kind of person to do both extremely well."

Such faith in her ability is understandable, as the track record of the woman who will take over from David Kenworthy as Chief Constable is impressive. Born in Exeter, she studied maths at the University of Bath before joining the Devon and Cornwall constabulary in 1975.

Her rise from constable to chief superintendent gave her extensive experience of policing both urban and rural environments, tourist areas such as Dartmoor and the south Devon coast. As Gold Control Commander for Operation Obscure in 1999, she successfully led a major policing initiative during the total eclipse of the sun.

Ms Cannings came to Cleveland in January 2000 as Assistant Chief Constable (Management Services), before becoming Assistant Chief Constable (Designate) and then, due to a change in the law, Acting Deputy Chief Constable in January this year.

She is also a director of the Association of Chief Police Officers and portfolio holder on Organisational Health, Safety and Welfare.

Now, despite going through, in her own words, a "rollercoaster of a time" since last Friday, when she secured a job which attracted an unprecedented 15 applications, she is firmly focused on the task ahead - and insists she will be judged on performance.

"That has to be the bottom line - there are many factors to be judged on. The key is about how we police. We are talking about intelligence gathering and making sure our resources are deployed where they need to be.

'FEAR of crime is on the increase at a time when crime figures are going down, so we need to make the public aware of what is happening in their areas. People like to hang on to the image of the days of Heartbeat, but we have to look at the modern world."

Heading one of the country's premier forces will be a tall order - something the present chief constable discovered during an amazing time which saw budgets and manpower stretched to the limit by flooding, fuel protesters, the Selby rail disaster and high-profile criminal investigations.

But Ms Cannings' love of peace and tranquility in her leisure time may well provide welcome relief. Away from the demands of running the business of a major police force, she is very much an outdoors type, with a love of walking in the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors.

She has tackled many of the picturesque hills and dales in England's largest county - overseeing its police force's efforts to reduce crime and the fear of crime will be Della Cannings' biggest challenge yet.