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Jon House decided the real action was not in the police force but in the council and switched careers accordingly, he tells Michael Burton Most of us regard being a police chief as about as invigorating as you can get in a job. But for Jon House it was simply not exciting enough – he had to join local government instead. The ex-copper who rose to be a borough commander in Sheffield came to the conclusion during the peak of his career that the real action was at city hall level. Instead of a progression through the ranks to be a chief constable, he has switched jobs to become deputy chief executive at Bristol City Council. Jon says the inspiration to swap his commander's uniform for a suit and tie came from the council chief executive with whom he was closely working with at the time, namely Sir Bob Kerslake, now head of the Homes and Communities Agency. It was the realisation that the council had far greater influence in its community to make an impact than the police that persuaded Jon to jump ship. As he says: ‘I'd done 15 years in the police. I could have been considered for the top job, after commander, assistant chief constable, then deputy chief constable and chief constable. I was working with Bob Kerslake and his team and it made me realise the impact of the council was much greater, and I wanted to be part of that. It has connections with the community while the police impact is quite narrow.' The realisation that the local authority had greater power to make changes, because of its councillors and the sheer variety of its services, had begun to occur to Jon even before he was made commander at Sheffield. He recalls beginning to realise that the police tended to be called in when the damage was done. ‘By the time the police are involved it's too late. I'd begun to think about the wider picture.' But before this, Jon had risen through the ranks of the police force. Born in Kent and educated at grammar school, he studied economics and geography at the LSE. His brother Stephen, now chief constable of Strathclyde Police, was also in the force and Jon joined the Metropolitan Police and worked in north London, including a spell with the vice unit at Kings Cross, ‘arresting drug dealers and pimps'. Later he worked for the Territorial Support Group, covered soccer matches and was promoted to sergeant, inspector and detective chief inspector. He was even a hostage negotiator. ‘When you're standing on top of a building persuading someone not to kill themselves you're problem-solving. The job is all about relationships.' Jon was made commander in Sheffield in 2005. About this time he began to conclude that the police role was limited, that they tended to be involved when an incident had occurred rather than being in a position to prevent it happening. He could also see the social divisions behind the crime statistics. ‘In the east there'd have to be a riot for them to call the police. In the west they'd call the police if a teenager breathed.' There was also an issue about accountability. ‘I feel significantly more accountable to councillors here at Bristol than when I was with the police authority. The level of accountability is very high in local government.' The Sheffield post took him into close contact with the city council through the LSP, working on the Safer Sheffield project and later during the 2007 floods. ‘Being commander is about being involved in the public sector covering the city, linking into health, social services and the local area agreements. LAAs brought the police commander and chief executive together.' He adds: ‘Around the country the relationship between police and their local authority is strong, but in some areas it's just a veneer. It shouldn't just be about meeting the LAA, it should be about understanding why. And it shouldn't be about meeting just in a crisis, but about building relationships beforehand.' His experience at Sheffield made Jon feel his management skills were transferable and that what he had learned in the police was applicable to running a council. ‘There are a significant amount of transferable skills across both ways. I'm not an expert in social care, yet I'm involved in it. The fact is I don't need to be an expert. I never touched a firearm in my life and yet I was a firearms commander. You rely on experts.' His experience handling highly sensitive situations has also been helpful. ‘Leadership isn't about ordering people about. It has to be consensual. Negotiating skills have to be exceptionally honed. I believe leadership is about relationships.' He felt he needed more experience before attempting a chief executive's post and also wanted to work in another core city. The Bristol post came up with its focus on performance and partnership working so he applied and was offered it. So what have been his impressions of the switch? He explains: ‘I used to work in a hierarchical organisation – at least I thought I did until I came here. The police force is very top-down and hierarchical, but local government is like that only without the uniform.' Then there are the extra hours put in by officers and members. ‘The police get overtime. If our staff here at the council got overtime, we'd have a massive bill. Police think local government is nine-to-five, as I did. They haven't got a clue. The commitment here is incredible, particularly with councillors and the number of hours they put in. It's a resource we shouldn't ignore.' He admires managers' capacity for analysis and hopes to increase their sense of empowerment. A major challenge is the recession. ‘We have to live with the new economic era. We can't salami slice services. We need to match resources with outcomes.'

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A new beat at city hall

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