Rachel has been an officer with Essex Police since beginning her policing career in 1998. She began as a police constable serving the communities of Canvey Island and South Benfleet. Over the next two-and-a-half decades Rachel gained experience in a variety of roles, which led her to the position of Deputy Chief Constable.  

Rachel has predominantly worked in uniformed and specialist operational roles, enjoying working on the front line and making a difference to communities.

Thanks to support from local Rotary Clubs, 2006 saw Rachel head to South Africa and Lesotho on an exchange visit. Here she learnt about cultural differences, and diversity in policing. She was promoted to Inspector, and became the Chief Constable's staff officer. In 2007, while still an Inspector, she worked with communities in Tilbury.

In 2008, Rachel was promoted to Chief Inspector spending six enjoyable years in the role. During this time she was the District Commander for both Thurrock and Basildon. She also oversaw our Roads Policing Unit and Dog Section.

After becoming a Superintendent in 2014, Rachel spent two years within the Criminal Justice Command. Here she led those responsible for managing our custody process and the administration, preparation and processing of prosecution files.

In 2016, Rachel was promoted to Operational Policing Command (OPC) Chief Superintendent. OPC officers have specialist skills and equipment. This includes our firearms unit, dog section, and road policing unit.

In this role Rachel led high-profile operations which included a visit to the UK by the US President. She also helped develop the collaboration between seven forces for firearms training alongside operational initiatives with Essex Fire and Rescue.

Rachel was seconded to the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC). Here she coordinated the operational policing response to Brexit preparations on behalf of the National Police Chief's Council (NPCC).

In 2020, Rachel completed the Strategic Command Course, the most senior leadership development programme in UK policing. Having passed with distinction, she was then successful in becoming an Assistant Chief Constable.

In her two roles as an ACC, Rachel led our teams across local policing and then in contact management and operational policing. These are our front-line policing teams, who help people in Essex and keep them safe. She also had overall responsibility for the force when it comes to firearm operations and the policing of public events.

In January 2025 Rachel was appointed Deputy Chief Constable.  She has maintained her national roles as the NPCC lead for Heritage and Cultural Property Crime, and more recently Police Support Volunteers.   

Rachel has a degree in English, PE and Sports Science. In her spare time Rachel enjoys renovating her home with her husband, Paul, and other outdoor activities, in particular canicross running with her dog, Polly.