Kelly Crockett joins Arson Task Force

A new member of the Arson Task Force (ATF) is looking forward to helping have a positive impact in the community.

Kelly Crockett has joined as the Arson Reduction Coordinator for Northamptonshire Police, working alongside Andy Evans of Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service.

The ATF was set up in 2004 as a joint initiative between Fire and Police as expertly demonstrated by Shaun Johnson, who Kelly is replacing. Shaun recently retired after a 13-year spell in the ATF and had become as much a member of the fire family as he had the police, and Kelly is hoping to have a similar impact.

Kelly will be based at Darby House and will be working across the county engaging with communities.

Having been with the Police since 2018, Kelly joins from a position as an Early Intervention Officer in the ACE Support Team under the Office for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, providing early help to children and families who have Adverse Child Experiences (ACE’s) whilst helping to reduce the demand on Police and statutory services.

Prior to this Kelly worked for 20 years in social care and education – working within Residential Care and Child Protection and Safeguarding teams for Northamptonshire County Council Children’s Services and as a Family Support Worker and Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) in primary education.

“I have close connections with NFRS and I have worked alongside the Prevention Team for several years as the Deputy Unit Commander for the Fire Specialism Cadets in Daventry, so when the role became available I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to utilise my knowledge and experience and to bring some new and additional skills to the role,” said Kelly.

The Arson Task Force has four arson reduction strategic objectives: Prevention, Education, Investigation and Detection and supports key aspects of the PFCC Crime Plan focussing on Safeguarding, arson related violence and crime, ASB, Domestic Abuse and managing high risk arson offenders in order to protect the public and businesses.

It also has a Fire Setters programme working with young people who display fire setting behaviours. The engagement of the ATF will often involve working with local policing teams, fire and rescue crews, community safety partnerships, schools, social services, parents or guardians and a variety of other partner agencies.

Kelly, who is also part of the Crime Prevention team, added: “My role involves prioritising referrals that come into the Arson Task Force and to work closely with partner agencies, looking at ways to problem solve local issues in order to implement strategies and initiatives to prevent incidents of deliberate fire setting and arson across the county”.

Kelly can be contacted on either Kelly.Crockett@northants.police.uk or KCrockett@northantsfire.gov.uk