Serena Kennedy began her career in Policing in 1993 with Greater Manchester Police having gained a degree in Applied Biology at the University of Hull. Since that date she has had a varied career across three forces.

In 2017 Serena joined Merseyside Police as Assistant Chief Constable, Investigation and Intelligence after she had successfully completed the Strategic Command Course. Also, in this year Serena finished a Master of Studies in Leadership and Policing at the University of Cambridge. In 2018 she was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable and in April 2021 became the first female Chief Constable to lead Merseyside Police.

Leadership is something that Serena is passionate about and she continues to develop herself through CPD and coaching. She has always taken seriously her role as a leader within policing and invests time coaching and mentoring people both regionally and nationally. This is something that she considers to be vital to ensure good leaders thrive within policing and that we achieve a fully inclusive organisation.

As Chief Constable her force strategy includes Inclusion, tackling serious & organised crime, community engagement, wellbeing, preventative policing and protecting vulnerable people. 

She has been the national lead for drones and Response Policing and she is the Chair of the newly formed National Prevention Coordination Committee. 

In July 2023 she was proud to be awarded a King’s Police medal in the first King’s Birthday Honours list.  Serena is married to Ian, a retired Police Officer and has three children and two grandchildren, all of whom keep her very busy.

 Serena’s presentation is entitled, Preventative Policing: A national and local perspective