FROM THE HIGH SHERIFF
FROM THE HIGH SHERIFF
Wirral resident and newly appointed High Sheriff of Merseyside Hazel Snell introduces herself, reflects on the experiences that shaped her commitment to public service, and begins a year of reporting on the people, organisations and communities making a difference across Merseyside.
Thank you for the opportunity to introduce myself.
On Friday 17th April 2026 I had the huge pleasure of being installed as the new High Sheriff of Merseyside, taking over from the wonderful Billy Hui.
The role of High Sheriff is a one-year, independent non-political Royal appointment. At its core, it’ s about supporting the Liverpool judiciary, Merseyside Police, the emergency services and the voluntary & community sector.
Many High Sheriffs choose a focus for the year and mine is the positive work that Merseyside is doing to tackle Violence against Women & Girls( VAWG). That choice comes from my time as Chair of the charity, Local Solutions( which amongst other things runs the Independent Domestic Violence Advice service in Liverpool), conversations with researchers on Gender Based Violence at my employer Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and, of course, being a mother to a son and daughter.
A recent Merseyside Police survey found that 71 % of women fear sexual assault and 69 % would not report to police. Through conversations with the judiciary, police, and charities working on VAWG, it’ s clear that we need to accelerate efforts that improve safety, strengthen services and increase confidence among women and girls to thrive in all aspects of life.
I’ m originally from Northern Ireland and my family life shaped so much of who I am. From a young age I was shown what it was to step up in your community and to play a part in society. Growing up during“ The Troubles”, my dad – a unionist in a mainly nationalist area – became known as a bridge builder. After he died, I wanted to follow his path and worked in cross-community partnerships and rural regeneration. That early sense of responsibility to my community never left me.
I moved to Merseyside in 2000, to work at Government Office Northwest, supporting the European Objective One programme’ s socio-economic regeneration of the city-region. In 2023, I became a Deputy Lieutenant for Merseyside, supporting the Lieutenancy to promote King ' s Award for Voluntary Service, King’ s Award for Enterprise, personal honours and British citizenship.
My High Sheriff year started with a visit to HMP Styal in Cheshire – where Merseyside women prisoners are held. It was particularly interesting to hear the work being done to combat reoffending. This was followed up with engagements including Freedom of the City award to the Girl’ s Brigade, the unveiling of a new memorial commemorating women’ s role in the two World Wars, meetings with local judges and magistrates and the installations of new Mayors and Lord Mayor.
The installation event was hosted at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine( LSTM), where I work as Head of Faculty Operations for Clinical Sciences & International Public Health. We were joined by the Lord Mayor / Mayors of Liverpool, Knowsley, St Helen’ s, Sefton and Wirral, the Lord-Lieutenant, the Chief Recorder and other senior judges from Crown and Family Court, along with representation from Merseyside Police, the Police & Crime Commissioners office, the Duchy of Lancaster, MPs, local business and community organisations.
As a Wirral resident I’ m delighted to be able to update you on what I’ ve been up to over the next year. If the first few weeks are anything to go by, it will be a varied and interesting year!!
16 wirrallife. com