APComm
Exec Elections 2026

The opportunity to stand for an Association of Police Communicators (APComm) executive role and help to take our work forward is now available to all members as we open the opportunity for nominations to the role of APComm Vice Chair!

Vice Chairs are elected for a two year period, and any member of APComm is welcome to stand.

All you need is permission from your line manager and your Chief Constable, as the work involves attendance at some national meetings and a number of other meetings throughout the year requiring your abstraction (with travelling costs, and occasional accommodation costs where required, to be met by your employer). There is also a requirement to commit to undertaking some work to be done in your own time.

The rewards are many, including the opportunity to shape and influence the future direction of the Association, gain an overview of national issues and matters, and form networks with peers within police communications, and among partners.

Interested? Here is what you need to do:

Nominations

If you wish to nominate yourself to stand for the post of Vice Chair, you can do so between Thursday 01 October and Sunday 25 October 2026. All you need to do is complete the nomination form at the bottom of this page, and get three APComm members to sign to support your nomination.

As well as completing the nomination form below, please submit a written summary (in no more than 400 words) what you as an individual will bring to the role of APComm Vice Chair. This will be posted on the APComm website and shared with membership to inform members’ votes. This should be in the form of a simple Word document, without illustrations or graphics. Please also provide a current head and shoulders photograph of yourself for publication on the website.

The written summary and the head and shoulders photo should be emailed to the APComm Secretary – tara.dundon@cambs.police.uk no later than midnight Sunday 25 October 2026, both of which are required alongside your submission of the website nomination form.

All nominees will have their picture and supporting statement placed on to the APComm website, and between Wednesday 28 October – Wednesday 18 November 2026 members will get the chance to vote for their choice of Vice Chair.  See more detail on the voting process in the ‘Voting Process’ section below.

Am I eligible to stand?

You do not need to be a Head of Communications to stand for the Vice Chair role – you can be at any level within police communications. All you need to bring to the role is a willingness to put some of your own time in, outside the day job, on a regular basis to progress your portfolio or workstreams.

Vice Chairs will deliver a bespoke set of workstreams, sometimes individually, and sometimes working with peers. Your interest may be training and CPD, digital futures, creative content, multi-media, wellbeing – these are just some examples of skills you may bring to the executive. Not only does being an APComm Vice Chair enable you to share your knowledge and skills to benefit others, it is also a great opportunity for you to develop.

There are 8 Vice Chair roles available for election, and we would love to fill all of them!

Voting Process

Each force / organisation which is a member of APComm will be entitled to two votes for APComm Vice Chair, and will be asked to place them in preferred order, first and second choices. The second vote will only be applied in the event of a tie.

Please note the following:

• A Head of Comms can support more than one person within their team to apply for a Vice Chair role.
• However, when communication teams submit their preferred two candidates these must be from two different policing organisations.
• Should more than one candidate from the same policing organisation receive the highest number of votes, only the one with the highest amount will be offered a place. This is to ensure the greatest representation from police organisations but gives members the opportunity to read and vote based on their preferred manifestos.

Heads of Comms are expected to consult with their teams to ensure each force / organisational vote is collective. Voting will take place between Wednesday 28 October – Wednesday 18 November 2026 inclusive. Results will be announced on Tuesday, 24 November at the APComm AGM, with postholders taking up the role Wednesday 13 January 2026.

Basis for nomination

Only individuals who are paid up members of APComm by opening of nominations (Thursday 1 October 2026) may stand for election or endorse a nominee.

Questions?

Questions about the election or voting process can be directed to the APComm Secretary Tara Dundon at tara.dundon@cambs.police.uk, or Co-Chairs clare.mills@npcc.police.uk or helen.wilson@surrey.police.uk

In addition, any one of the current executive will be happy to have a confidential and informal discussion – just get in touch. Our contact details are on your monthly Bulletin or available via the Our Committee page.