The SCSN Team

SCSN has a small but highly skilled and dedicated staff team and a board comprised of many highly talented and experienced people from across the community safety spectrum and further afield.

Staff Team

Lorraine Gillies, Chief Executive Officer

Lorraine Gillies is the Chief Officer with the Scottish Community Safety Network.  Her role is to ensure that the organisations achieves the vision set out by Board of Directors and reflects the needs of the membership and stakeholders.  Lorraine has a background in the public sector, audit and scrutiny and the third and voluntary sectors.  She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and enjoys starting fires….


Dave Shea, Head of National Development

Dave is the Head of National Development with SCSN. He brings experience from eight years as a police officer, several years as manager of a community-centred volunteering service, and time as the coordinator of an innovative criminal justice research project. Dave has a strong interest in the human aspects of justice, rehabilitation and community engagement, and enjoys opportunities for creative collaboration and shared learning.


Dawn Exley, National Development Officer

Dawn Exley is a National Development Officer with the Scottish Community Safety Network.   Dawn has worked in a similar capacity in the Scottish Government and the third sector.  She volunteers as a trustee of the Citadel Youth Centre in her spare time.


Sandra Black, Business Support Officer

Sandra started her career in retail until a back injury meant that she had to take medical retirement.  She returned to full time education and gained her BA Accounting (Hons) in 2013.  Since then she has worked as an administrator in a charity and a church administrator.  With a large family (5 daughters, 2 grandsons & 1 granddaughter) she loves spending time with them.  To relax she is a crafter: knitting, crochet, cross stitch.  Sandra loves to travel, especially cruising and has been as far as Japan.


The SCSN Board

Jennifer Middlemiss, SCSN Chair

Jennifer has worked in Perth & Kinross Council for 31 years, starting in Housing and holding a variety of positions. 18 years ago I transferred to Community Safety where she has remained since in a variety of roles and through many reorganisations!

Her current role is Lead officer for Violence against Women and Girls within the Safer Communities Team, which includes the Safer Communities Wardens, Anti-Social Investigation, MAPPA Housing Liaison and the Police Hub.


Ann Fehilly
Ann Fehilly is Head of Strategic Services within Community Safety Glasgow and has worked in the field of Community Safety since 1989, initially within Safe Strathclyde and then within Development and Regeneration Services of Glasgow City Council; post local Government reorganisation.  In 2006 GCC created a number of Arms Length External Organisations (ALEOs) to deliver a range of services, one of which was Community Safety Glasgow.  Ann has been involved in developing and delivering a number of services in Glasgow from theory to practice.


Gemma Fraser

Gemma Fraser is an Improvement Lead within Community Justice Scotland, which is the national oversight body for community justice activity across Scotland.  In this role she supports local areas to improve aspects of the justice system for those involved, and report to the Scottish Government on national progress. She is particularly passionate about restorative justice and supporting children and young people, working nationally to develop both.

Gemma previously worked for Police Scotland for 11 years, latterly as the Senior Partnership Analyst for Fife Community Safety Partnership. She has a post-graduate degree in collaborative leadership in complex environments, and recently completed a qualification with the Chartered Management Institute.


Cathy Barlow, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service

I have worked for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for 15 years in numerous prevention roles. I am currently the Deputy Head of Prevention and Protection with a remit of managing the Prevention Portfolio. This covers a wide range of areas including; home safety, adult and child safeguarding, youth engagement, heritage, road and water safety, and deliberate fire reduction.

We work closely with partner agencies, both nationally and locally, to support a wide range of community safety and wellbeing areas and are represented on numerous community planning and partnership forums.


Valerie Arbuckle

Valerie is the Partnership Development Manager for Police Scotland based within the Partnership, Prevention and Community Wellbeing Division.  Her main focus is the development of partnerships that reduce and prevent harm.  She champions Primary Prevention and a Public Health Approach to policing.

Valerie has worked in Policing since 2005 and has held senior roles in a variety of business areas which have contributed to her understanding of the wider organisation. 

Valerie said, “Community Safety is core to Policing and the partnership we have with SCSN is key to both organisations.  As a board member I look to maintain and develop the strong connection between Police Scotland, SCSN and their wider membership.”


Rebecca Evans

In 2005 Rebecca graduated with a BA Community Education from the University of Strathcylde during which time she started working with Cyrenians as a tenancy support worker for the SmartMove project. Continued with Cyrenians for 9 years taking on leadership of their private rented sector services across central Scotland as well as liaising with national forums working in homelessness.

In 2012 she completed an MSc International Development and NGO Management from the University of East London following which took up development manager with Mary’s Meals posted to Malawi and then Kenya.

She has also worked in Cambodia at a small education NGO providing in-service teacher development.

In 2019 she worked with the private sector development consultancy, Montrose, as Asia-Pacific regional co-ordinator managing programmes and business development in education, health, livelihoods and climate and subsequently promoted to global deputy director of programmes and has been with them for 3 years. She is currently undertaking a MA in Gender, Development and Education with University College London.

Been a leader with Girlguiding UK for 25 years. The rest of her spare time is mainly spent exploring new countries, reading books and cuddling my Labrador puppy.