CEO Reflections – November 2026
Sixty Years, Changing Times and Unfinished Business
As I hurtle towards my 60th birthday at the beginning of November, I find myself reflecting on the past sixty years and just how I made it to this ripe old age.
I have shared my experiences in policing on many occasions. Becoming a police officer was an ambition from a very early age, one which never wavered throughout my education and into my early working life.
A brief dalliance with a military career, intended to provide some experience of life before embarking on my true ambition, was short-lived. At 18, I quickly realised that I wasn’t particularly good at responding to discipline when I couldn’t see the purpose behind it!
The Intelligence Corps might well have taken me down a very different path in life, but I have no regrets.
When I walked into Bedford Police Station in 1986, aged 19, to meet my new colleagues after completing 14 weeks of initial training, I was a complete novice at life.
Fast forward 40 years and I believe that I now sit firmly in the Advanced Beginner category.
Every day is a learning day, particularly as the Chief Executive of a charity whose primary purpose is to deliver the best possible therapeutic support to people who have experienced life-changing trauma and grief.
A Career of Unexpected Opportunitiesnexpected Opportunities
At no point during my policing career was I particularly focused on planning the next stage. Doors opened, opportunities presented themselves, and I took on new roles based largely on instinct, whether I felt I was suited to the challenge and, perhaps most importantly, whether I believed I could make a difference.
Public protection provided just such an opportunity. Working in areas including child abuse, domestic abuse, serious sexual offences and some of the most sensitive and complex investigations undertaken by the police was both challenging and immensely rewarding.
I concluded my policing career in a continuous improvement role, which was the first time in 27 years that I hadn’t actually applied for a particular position.
This was a “career development opportunity” that had been “offered” to me by the then Deputy Chief Constable!
As it turned out, it proved to be another fantastic career move. I developed new skills, gained a different perspective on policing and had the privilege of working alongside some amazing police staff colleagues.
Perhaps surprisingly, some of the skills I acquired more than ten years ago are proving just as valuable today in my role as Chief Executive of the Road Victims Trust.
Finding a New purpose
Becoming a charity Chief Executive was never part of my plans.
Having spent 35 years problem-solving, dealing with trauma, conflict and the general complexities of life, I was very much in decompression mode. That sort of career inevitably takes its toll, and sometimes it is important to take a step back and consider your own wellbeing.
And yet, here I am, approaching 60 and finding myself motivated to get out of bed every morning because I know that what we are doing at the Road Victims Trust is making a real difference to people’s lives.
During the course of this year, I have found myself reflecting increasingly on those children and young people who potentially sail under the radar when we consider the individuals affected by fatal and life-changing road collisions.
I have met adults who lost parents, siblings and friends in road collisions when they were children themselves. Hearing about their experiences has reinforced my belief that, without the right support or intervention, the consequences of these sudden and unexpected tragedies can extend far beyond childhood, potentially affecting individuals throughout their lives.
It is this realisation that has prompted me to commence a scoping project over recent months, exploring the potential unmet needs of children and young people affected by serious road collisions and examining what support is currently available to them.
My ambition is to develop an academic research project that could provide a stronger evidence base for understanding those needs and, ultimately, inform the development of appropriate therapeutic support for young people whose lives have been changed by road collisions.
Navigating Uncertainty
Of course, having ambitions for the future is one thing. Delivering them in an increasingly uncertain environment is quite another.
Our organisational risk register has been updated regularly over recent weeks. As an INFP on the Myers-Briggs personality assessment, I’m naturally more comfortable with big-picture thinking than detailed planning and organisation. Suffice to say, my less-preferred personality traits have been getting a considerable workout lately!
The grant funding landscape has been particularly challenging in 2026, and it has therefore been necessary over the past 12 to 18 months to explore alternative ways of generating income for a charity that receives no direct central government funding.
I am enormously grateful to the Police and Crime Commissioners in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire for their unwavering commitment to, and belief in, the services we provide.
The proposed abolition of PCCs and their replacement with alternative governance arrangements will inevitably create challenges during the transition. We need to ensure that RVT is well positioned for those changes and, importantly, that those responsible for future funding decisions fully understand the value and importance of the support we provide.
I am equally grateful to the law firms on our Legal Panel, who have demonstrated their faith in RVT and made a meaningful commitment to supporting our long-term sustainability.
The independent review of police force structures, led by Lord Bernard Hogan-Howe, represents another emerging consideration for our organisational risk register.
What might any future restructuring mean for the incredible relationships we have developed with roads policing officers, Family Liaison Officers and collision investigators across the collaborated Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Roads Policing function?
The simple answer is that we don’t yet know.
The financial pressures facing local authorities add another dimension to this uncertainty, particularly when we consider our collective responsibilities for road safety and casualty reduction.
The ongoing sustainability challenge has provided me with an opportunity to recruit Mathilda, our new Corporate Partnerships and Engagement Officer at RVT. She will work alongside and compliment the community fundraising that has been carried out so well by Amy Barrett over the past twelve months. I am really looking forward to how these two roles will enable diversification of income.
Working Together to Reduce Harm
Against this backdrop, I am delighted to have taken on the role of Chair of the Bedfordshire Vision Zero Partnership. It provides an opportunity to contribute to the important work of reducing harm to those most at risk on our roads.
As a partnership, our resources are finite, and we must ensure that they are directed towards activities and interventions that have the greatest potential to deliver positive outcomes.
What continues to encourage me is the passion, commitment and determination demonstrated by partners across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.
Whatever organisational or structural changes lie ahead, there is a shared desire to improve road safety, embrace the Safe System approach and, ultimately, reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads.
Still Plenty to Do
As I reflect on the past sixty years, I am fortunate to have experienced a life well lived. A life in which I have fulfilled ambitions, embraced unexpected opportunities and achieved things that the 19-year-old version of me could scarcely have imagined.
The passion to make a difference remains as strong as ever.
Whether that is influencing change to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads or, in the meantime, ensuring that charities like the Road Victims Trust continue to exist to provide vital support to people experiencing the most difficult moments of their lives, there is still plenty I want to achieve.
For now, though, I will be taking a well-earned day off to celebrate my birthday.
Apparently, Mrs Cook has organised a magical mystery tour to somewhere in the UK.
After 40 years of embracing unexpected opportunities, I suppose another trip to the garden centre won’t do any harm!
Paul Cook
Chief Executive Officer
The Road Victims Trust
https://roadsafetybedfordshire.co.uk/