Julie Spence is His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, appointed in April 2017.
After graduating as a teacher from Liverpool University and I M Marsh College of Physical Education. In 1978, Julie joined Avon and Somerset Police and was seconded to the Association of Chief Police Officers secretariat in London for two years.
In 1999, Julie was appointed to Assistant Chief Constable for Thames Valley Police. In 2005 Julie was appointed to Chief Constable for Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
In the Queen’s 80th Birthday Honours, Julie was awarded an OBE for her management of complex and contentious organisational issues, leadership of Thames Valley’s contribution to the operations to protect Heathrow and the Queen Mother’s funeral, her work for the ACPO Terrorism and Allied Matters Committee on Royalty and VIP Protection and her strong leadership and determination in taking forward the Gender Agenda and the development of the British Association of Women in Policing (BAWP), which have both become major drivers for gender equality in British policing. She was President of BAWP for 10 years (2000-2010).
In 2008 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by Anglia Ruskin University: then in the 2010 New Year’s Honours list she received the Queens Police Medal (QPM) followed in 2021 when she received the Commander of the Order of St John (CStJ) for her services to St John’s Ambulance and the Order of St John.
In September 2010, after a 32 year career, she retired from policing.
In June 2023 Julie retired as Chair of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS (Community and Mental Health) Foundation Trust.
Julie has been a Governor of Anglia Ruskin University (2021), is Chair of Wellbeing of Women (Cambridge Branch) and a Patron of Ormiston Families, supporting families in East Anglia, alongside being Patron of several other worthy Cambridgeshire organisations.
Julie will hold the Lord-Lieutenant title until 2030.
Patronages
The Lord-Lieutenant’s charity involvements, patronages and trusteeships include:
Magistrates
The Lord-Lieutenants of Cambridgeshire and Essex alternately chair the advisory committee which recommends the appointment of magistrates in these counties to the Lord Chancellor.
Magistrates are volunteers who hear cases in courts in their community. They can hear cases in the criminal court, the family court, or both. There are some 100 or so magistrates in Cambridgeshire, who sit in courts in Cambridge, Huntingdon and Peterborough, see https://www.cambsmagistrates.org.uk/
For information on the work of magistrates and how to apply, see https://www.gov.uk/become-magistrate