The appointment of a new Leicestershire and Rutland deputy police and crime commissioner has been approved. 

Charlotte Chirico's appointment has been ratified by the Leicestershire and Rutland police and crime panel after a confirmation hearing last month. 

The commissioner's office says Charlotte, who is known as Charlie, is now in post. 

Minutes of the private session of the confirmation hearing have been released ahead of next week's police and crime panel meeting. 



Charlotte Chirico has been approved as the new deputy Police and Crime Commissioner (Photo: LDRS)

They say: "The panel determined that the candidate understood the role, met the criteria, and will be fully committed to carrying out her duties as deputy police and crime commissioner. 

"The panel made some observations about the appointment noting that whilst they were satisfied that Miss Chirico had undertaken work to support individuals from a variety of backgrounds, they recommend that she extends her knowledge of the whole police force area with a particular focus on the diversity of communities within Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.  

"The panel will be keen to receive feedback on how Miss Chirico aims to support diverse communities across the police force area through deputy police and crime commissioner update reports, which are presented at meetings of the police and crime panel." 

The new deputy has a background in law and comes from Melton Mowbray. She has previously stood as a Conservative candidate for a police and crime commissioner role in the south of England. 

At her confirmation hearing she said she would be working around the clock and admitted there will be times when she gets things wrong and do things that are annoying. 

The deputy role comes with a £47,000 salary. 

Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews spoke out backing proposals to raise council tax (Photo: Leicestershire and Rutland Police)

At next week's meeting (February 5) police and crime commissioner Rupert Matthews (Con) will ask the panel to support his proposal to increase the police's portion of local council tax. 

He says in the budget report that the financial picture for the force is looking bleak. 

"In the last three years alone, Leicestershire Police have made £14m of savings. A further £9.3m was required to be found to close the deficit for 2025/26 . 

"The force has reduced in size, removing 91 Police Staff Roles and 50 PCSOs over the last two years, with a further 35 needing to be removed in order to balance the budget for 2025/26. 

"In the last three years alone, Leicestershire Police have made £14m of savings. A further £9.3m was required to be found to close the deficit for 2025/26.  

"In light of these financial pressures, I have decided to recommend to the Police and Crime Panel that the policing precept paid by taxpayers in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland be increased by 4.89%, equivalent to a £14 per year or 27p per week increase for a Band D property."