‘Outstanding’ service recognised by the Queen
Mike Barton has been appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on the day he retires from the service.
The 62-year-old officer steps down as chief constable of Durham Constabulary on Saturday (June 8) after a 39-year career in uniform, the same day it was announced he is to receive a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
Other senior awards go to Sara Thornton, the former chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, who becomes Dame Sara, and Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable George Hamilton receives a knighthood.
Mr Barton became a police constable in 1980 in Blackpool saying he wanted “to make a difference”.
He steadily worked his way through the ranks, earning a reputation along the way both as a tough detective and a forward-thinking innovator.
After three years as Divisional Commander in Preston, Mr Barton joined Durham Constabulary in 2008 as assistant chief constable. He was promoted to deputy chief constable the following year and took on the top job in 2012.
Famed for his no-nonsense style, Mr Barton went on to turn Durham Constabulary into Britain’s best-performing police force according to grades issued by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services. During his tenure, the force earned four successive Outstanding ratings in the annual Peel inspections.
While serving with Durham, he developed his distinctive approach to tackling crime: a radical mix of old-fashioned police work and new thinking around technology, problem-solving and Restorative Justice.
During his three years as NPCC Crime Operations lead, Mr Barton oversaw the restructure of the national Holmes computer network and was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in 2014.
He said: “When I became a police officer 39 years ago, CBEs were for the glitterati, royals and people I had never met, so to be honoured like this is taking a bit of getting my head around.
“I would like to say a deep and sincere thank you to everybody who has worked with me over the years and made me look good and also to those who took the time and trouble to put my name forward to Her Majesty the Queen.
“This is a great honour for everyone at Durham Constabulary and is a recognition of all our creativity and hard work.”
Other notable awards include an OBE for the police and crime commissioner (PCC) for Sussex, Katy Bourne, and an MBE for Colin Dorrance, a former sergeant with Police Scotland.
Chief Constable Giles York said: “Katy Bourne has been a consistent force for good since first being elected as the PCC for Sussex; she has always been a voice of challenge and support for the force and championing the needs of the public and those who struggle to have their voice heard.”
Ms Bourne said: “I am very honoured to have been nominated and to have been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. This is a tremendous endorsement of the role of police and crime commissioners and testament to the hard work of the team in my office who support me. I would like to thank them and also every single police officer, PCSO and police staff member in Sussex for working so tirelessly to keep us all safe.”
Mr Dorrance was one of the first people on the scene of the Lockerbie disaster when a PanAm flight came down on the Scottish town. As the youngest officer in Scotland at the time, the tragedy has been a constant part of his life and now, after retiring, he is still involved in supporting victims’ families. On the 30thanniversary of the crash in 2018, Mr Dorrance cycled from Lockerbie to Syracuse University in the US, which lost 35 students to the disaster.
The full list of honours, awarded for services to policing and law enforcement unless otherwise stated, is as follows:
Dame Commander of the British Empire
Sara Thornton CBE QPM, Former Chief Constable and Chair, National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Knighthood
George Hamilton QPM, Chief Constable, Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Michael Barton QPM, Chief Constable, Durham Constabulary.
David Strang QPM, Former HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland and Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police.
Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Daniel Bates, Manager, Research and Development, National Crime Agency.
Katy Bourne, Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex.
Mark Hamilton, Assistant Chief Constable, Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Robert Ormsby, Special, National Crime Agency.
Gavin Thomas, Former Chief Superintendent, Gloucestershire Constabulary and President, Police Superintendents’ Association.
Robin Wilkinson, Chief of Corporate Services, Metropolitan Police Service.
Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Emma Bond, Chief Superintendent, Police Service of Northern Ireland
Gary Byfield, Inspector, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to Families of Police Officers Killed in the Line of Duty.
Donald Darroch, Special Constable, Police Scotland.
Colin Dorrance, Former Sergeant, Police Scotland. For services to Law and Order, the Remembrance of Pan Am Flight 103 and charity.
Michael Flavin, Review Team Manager. Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Joint Protective Services Major Crime Unit.
Caroline Headon, Police Staff, South Wales Police.
Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)
John Butcher, Force Chaplain, West Midlands Police.
Lynn Mary Chantrey, Police Staff Volunteer, Lincolnshire Police.
Anne Cunningham, Volunteer, Thames Valley Police.
Jeffrey Hancock, Police Staff, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to charity.
Stephen Hicks, former Police Constable, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to Young People in Enfield, London.
Karen Macauley, For voluntary service to Lancashire Constabulary.
Hayley Nortcliffe, Sergeant, West Yorkshire Police.
David Overton, Volunteer, Suffolk Special Constabulary Recruitment
Mark Ranola, Police Constable, Hampshire Constabulary.
Tony Spruce, Former Police Community Support Officer, Cheshire Constabulary.
Alison Suffield, Police Constable, Lancashire Constabulary.
Yelèna Travis-Powell, Investigations Officer, National Crime Agency.
Queen’s Police Medal (QPM)
Firzana Ahmed, Police Constable, West Yorkshire Police
Warren Barlow, Former Detective Constable, Greater Manchester Police
Kathryn Barnes, Detective Chief Superintendent, Thames Valley Police
Simon Barraclough, Temporary Chief Superintendent, Greater Manchester Police
David Clement, Former Sergeant, Northumbria Police
Jane Connors, Commander, Metropolitan Police Service
Stuart Cundy, Commander, Metropolitan Police Service
Lee Davenport, Former Chief Superintendent, West Mercia Police
Christopher Davison, Detective Constable, Metropolitan Police Service
Simon Fahey, Police Constable, Surrey Police
Sara Glen, Deputy Chief Constable, Hampshire Constabulary
Michael Griffiths, Chief Constable, Civil Nuclear Constabulary
David Malyn, Detective Superintendent, North Yorkshire Police
John McDermott, Temporary Chief Superintendent, Kent Police
John Robins, Temporary Chief Constable, West Yorkshire Police
Stephen Watson, Chief Constable, South Yorkshire Police
Christine Williams, Former Detective Constable, Avon & Somerset Police
Alec Wood, Former Chief Constable, Cambridgeshire Constabulary
POLICE SERVICE OF NORTHERN IRELAND (PSNI)
Ronald Galwey, Former Detective Constable, PSNI
Jeremy Harris, Former Deputy Chief Constable, PSNI
Jonathan Roberts, Chief Superintendent, PSNI
POLICE SCOTLAND
Gail Johnston, Detective Superintendent
Brian McInulty, Chief Superintendent
OVERSEAS / FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (FCO)
Paul Wright, Deputy Commissioner, Bermuda Police Service
Other Awards of Note
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Glyn Williams, Director General, Borders, Immigration and Citizenship System: Policy and International Group, Home Office.
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Sir Michael Burton QC, President, Investigatory Powers Tribunal.
CBE
Graeme Henderson Biggar, Former Director, Office for Security and Counter Terrorism, Home Office.
Grace Ononiwu OBE, Chief Crown Prosecutor, West Midlands, Crown Prosecution Service.
OBE
Peter Clarke, Former Assistant Director, Border Force, Home Office.
Kathryn Davies, Assistant Director, HM Revenue and Customs. For services to the Investigation of Organised Crime.
