Former TVP chief constable knighted

The former chief constable of Thames Valley Police (TVP), Francis Habgood, is to receive the highest honour among UK law enforcement, a knighthood for services to policing.

And current chief constable of British Transport Police (BTP), Paul Crowther, is to be appointed commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) after 40 years with the force.

Also receiving special recognition with an OBE are Devon and Cornwall Deputy Chief Constable Paul Netherton and police staff members from Norfolk Constabulary David Gray, Patrick Donnellan, Deputy Head of Operation Resolve, from Greater Manchester Police and James Douglass from the Metropolitan Police Service.

The national police chaplain Reverend Canon David Wilbraham receives an MBE.

Mr Habgood was recognised for leading one of the largest and most complex forces between 2015 and March this year, and the vital role he played at a national level, progressing three of the most challenging areas in policing nationally: the £9.3bn Emergency Services Network (ESN) Programme; Police Pay and Conditions; and the Protect & Prepare counter-terrorism strategy.

He led TVP to earn an outstanding rating for efficiency in 2017 from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services. As well as Royal visits, TVP has had some of the largest police operations in its boundaries: with two Royal weddings and the visit of President Trump conducted smoothly under his command.

Under his aegis, the introduction of mental health nurses to custody suites was a major advance. At regional level he took on overall responsibility for counter terrorism policing which ran the successful Salisbury poisoning investigation.

As chair of the chief constable’s reference group for the ESN Programme, he has been an essential interface between policing and Home Office in the delivery of the programme to replace the existing emergency services Airwave system, providing challenge but also support and guidance.

His knowledge of the detail, which he was able to translate into a clearly articulated strategic requirement for policing, helped assist in the reset of this complex programme.

Paul Crowther has worked for BTP for 40 years, the last five as its chief constable. His long career has seen him work on numerous incidents, ranging from the King Cross fire and the Potters Bar train crash, to more recently presiding over the response to terror attacks that have struck Manchester and London.

Throughout his service he has made clear his determination to keep the national rail network safe and secure as well as supporting victims of crime and the vulnerable.

Mr Crowther said: “It has been the greatest honour to serve BTP for the past 40 years, and to be the chief since 2014. Throughout my time at the force, I have seen staff and officers across all ranks tackle and overcome such enormous challenges. Not only have they responded to acts of terrorism, or witnessed devastating scenes following train crashes, they’ve also brought violent offenders to justice and helped protect vulnerable people from harm.

“While this is an individual award, it is clear to me that this honour is shared amongst all the hard-working men and women at BTP who carry out tremendous work every day. As we welcome in 2020, I would like to thank those officers and staff for their dedicated service and wish them and their families a very happy New Year.”

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) said it was disappointing that there was such a significant drop in federated ranks in England and Wales receiving honours this year – down to 18 from 30 last year.

It welcomed the award of an MBE to David Wilbraham as he coordinates the National Police Memorial Day and provides invaluable support and guidance to the policing family.

In a statement the PFEW said it hopes next year’s honours will see the number chosen rise in recognition of the vital work they do keeping the public safe.

The Cabinet Office said this year, the Honours List “celebrates a range of extraordinary young people across the UK” including an MBE awarded to 25-year-old Yusuf Patel for his work in tackling extremism in London and 13-year-old Ibrahim Yousaf, the youngest person on the list, for his charity work in Greater Manchester.

PFEW National Chair John Apter said: “I would like to give my most heartfelt congratulations to all those officers and staff recognised in the 2020 Queen’s New Year’s Honours.

“This year has been an exceptionally tough year, and I am so proud to see the efforts of my colleagues from across England and Wales being recognised so highly for the outstanding contributions they have made to policing and the communities they serve.

“So often police officers are unsung heroes, but recognition from the Queen is such a special honour and one that these outstanding men and women can be rightfully proud of. We must not forget that for every officer recognised there will be many others who have not been but are as deserving.

“Police officers are humble individuals who don’t do what they do for praise or recognition but when it comes it is very much appreciated and very much deserved. In the future, I hope that many more of my colleagues will receive this highest of honours.”

The full list of honours is as follows:

Knighthood

Francis Habgood, former Chief Constable, Thames Valley Police.

Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

Paul Crowther, Chief Constable, British Transport Police

Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

Patrick Donnellan, Deputy Head of Operation Resolve, Greater Manchester Police

James Douglass, Police Staff, Metropolitan Police Service

David Gray, Police Staff, Norfolk Constabulary

Paul Netherton, Deputy Chief Constable, Devon and Cornwall Police

Kathleen Richardson, Senior Manager, National Crime Agency

Charles Yates, Head of Threat Leadership, Insights, Partnership and Delivery, National Crime Agency

Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

Graham Budd, Police Constable, South Wales Police

Neil Cussen, Police Staff, Thames Valley Police

Naomi Eales, Operations Officer, National Crime Agency

Robert Fowler, Counter Terrorism Strategy Liaison Officer, Police Scotland

Andrew Freeburn, Chief Superintendent, Police Service of Northern Ireland

Kevin Saunders, Special Constable, Hampshire Constabulary

Michael Walmsley, Special Constabulary Chief Officer, Greater Manchester Police

Reverend Canon David Wilbraham, National Police Chaplain

Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)

William Armstrong, Reserve Constable, Police Service of Northern Ireland

Deborah Farrar, Protecting Vulnerable People Investigator, South Wales Police

Sidney Mackay, former Chief Superintendent, Metropolitan Police Service and Chair and Trustee, the Police Roll of Honour Trust

Graham Miller, former Inspector, Police Scotland

Julian Pell-Coggins, Police Constable, Metropolitan Police Service

James Reid, Sergeant, West Midlands Police

Abdool Rohomon, Police Constable, West Midlands Police

Alan Seldon, Special Constable, Metropolitan Police Service

Christopher Ward, former Neighbourhood Inspector, Thames Valley Police

QPM (Queen’s Police Medal)

Deborah Akinlawon, Detective Constable, Metropolitan Police Service

Claire Bell, Chief Superintendent, West Midlands Police

Angelina Carey, former Detective Sergeant, North Yorkshire Police

Mark Collins, Chief Constable, Dyfed-Powys Police

Claire Dinsdale, Police Constable, Dorset Police

Nigel Doak, Detective Superintendent, Thames Valley Police

Julie Forsythe, Detective Sergeant, Police Service of Northern Ireland

Lisa Harman, Detective Superintendent, Metropolitan Police Service

Richard Lewis, Deputy Chief Constable, South Wales Police

David Lowans, Detective Inspector, Police Service of Northern Ireland

Gillian MacDonald, Assistant Chief Constable, Police Scotland

Fiona Mallon, Superintendent, Metropolitan Police Service

David McIlwaine, Sergeant, Police Service of Northern Ireland

Gerry McLean, Detective Chief Superintendent, Police Scotland

Paul Mills, Deputy Chief Constable, Wiltshire Police

David Minty, Superintendent, Wiltshire Police

Bharat Kumar Narbad, Police Constable, South Wales Police

Dominic Murphy, Detective Superintendent, Metropolitan Police Service

Neil Sladen, Temporary Inspector, Lancashire Constabulary

Susan Southern, Assistant Chief Constable, West Midlands Police

Julian Williams, former Chief Constable, Gwent Police

Gareth Wilson, former Chief Constable, Suffolk Constabulary

Others of note also receiving awards include:

Colonel Patrick Cairns DL, Chief Executive, St George’s Police Children’s Trust and Police Treatment Centres Charities is awarded the MBE.

René Barclay, former Principal Crown Advocate, Special Crime Division, Crown Prosecution Service, and Professor Allyson MacVean, Professor of Policing and Criminology, Bath Spa University, receive the OBE.