Simon Byrne (police officer)

Simon Byrne, QPM (born 29 April 1963) is a senior English police officer. He served as Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) from July 2019 until he resigned in September 2023. He was the Deputy Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police from 2009 to 2011 and the Assistant Commissioner for Territorial Policing in the Metropolitan Police Service from 2011 to 2014. He then served as Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary from 2014 to 2017.

Chief Constable
Simon Byrne
QPM
Byrne in 2021
Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland
In office
1 July 2019 – 4 September 2023
DeputyMark Hamilton
Preceded bySir George Hamilton
Succeeded byJon Boutcher
Personal details
Born (1963-04-29) 29 April 1963
Epsom, Surrey, England
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
Alma materUniversity of Manchester
Professionpolice officer

Early life and education

Byrne was born on 29 April 1963 in Epsom, Surrey, England. He was educated at Neston High School, then a comprehensive school in Neston, Cheshire. He later studied police management at the University of Manchester, graduating with a Master of Arts (MA) degree.[1]

Police career

Byrne began his career in the police when he joined the Metropolitan Police Service as a constable in 1982.[2] He transferred to Merseyside Police in 1985.[3] He served as the commander of the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley between 2002 and 2004.[4]

In 2006, he was promoted to Assistant Chief Constable.[5] As this is a chief officer rank, he joined the Association of Chief Police Officers. Within Merseyside Police he served as ACC Operations and ACC Personnel.[3] In February 2009, he transferred to Greater Manchester Police, becoming Deputy Chief Constable.[6] In 2011, he returned to the Metropolitan Police Service as the Assistant Commissioner for Territorial Policing.[4][7]

On 24 February 2014, he was selected as the next Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary.[8] He took up the appointment on 25 June.[4] From 2015 to 2017, he was additionally the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for criminal justice.[9] He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in the 2016 New Year Honours.[10] On 23 August 2017, he was suspended after an investigation found he had a case to answer for gross misconduct.[11] His fixed-term contract expired in 2018.[12] He was cleared of misconduct on 11 December 2018.[13][14]

Police Service of Northern Ireland

On 24 May 2019, Byrne was announced as the next Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).[15] He took up the appointment on 1 July 2019.[16] He was paid £207,489 per year.[15] At a meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board on 6 April 2023, his contract as chief constable was extended by three years allowing his to continue in that role until 1 July 2027.[17]

A LucidTalk poll in 2023 found that only 16% of people in Northern Ireland had confidence in his leadership of the PSNI, compared with 60% who expressed no confidence. This followed the PSNI data breaches in August 2023.[18] Following an emergency meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board on 4 September 2023, Byrne resigned as Chief Constable.[19][20]

Personal life

In 1990, Byrne married Susan. Together they have three children, including one daughter who predeceased her parents.[9]

Honours


RibbonDescriptionNotes
Queen's Police Medal (QPM)
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
  • 2002
  • UK Version of this Medal
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
  • 2012
  • UK Version of this Medal
Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal
  • 2022
  • UK Version of this Medal
King Charles III Coronation Medal
  • 2023
  • UK Version of this Medal
Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

References
  1. "Byrne, Simon". Who's Who 2019. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  2. Bloom, Ben (16 January 2012). "New police commissioner goes back to Paddington stomping ground". Ham&High. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  3. "Simon Byrne". About the Met – Leadership. Metropolitan Police. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  4. "Preferred candidate for Cheshire chief constable is revealed". Chester Chronicle. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  5. "New Deputy Chief Constable Appointed". Salford Online. 21 February 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  6. "Deputy Chief Constable lands new role with the Met". Rochdale Online. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  7. Keeling, Neal (21 October 2011). "London calling for one of GMP's top police officers". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  8. "Crime Panel Approves Cheshire's New Chief Constable". Cheshire Police & Crime Commissioner. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  9. "Byrne, Simon, (born 29 April 1963), Chief Constable, Police Service of Northern Ireland, since 2019". Who's Who 2023. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  10. "No. 61450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2015. p. N35.
  11. Perraudin, Frances (23 August 2017). "Cheshire chief constable suspended over gross misconduct allegations". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  12. "Police chief 'was like Darth Vader'". BBC News. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  13. "Cheshire police chief Simon Byrne cleared of misconduct". BBC News. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  14. "Gross Misconduct Hearing: Former Chief Constable Simon Byrne". Cheshire PCC. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  15. Edwards, Mark (24 May 2019). "Simon Byrne appointed as new PSNI chief constable". The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  16. O'Neill, Julian (1 July 2019). "New PSNI chief Simon Byrne sworn in". BBC News. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  17. "CHIEF CONSTABLE CONTRACT EXTENSION". Northern Ireland Policing Board. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  18. "Do you have confidence in (a) the PSNI?, and (b) the Chief Constable: Simon Byrne?". Twitter. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  19. Blevins, David (4 September 2023). "David Blevins on X: "BREAK: Simon Byrne resigns as Chief Constable of..."". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  20. Leebody, Christopher (4 September 2023). "PSNI chief constable Simon Byrne resigns after weeks of turmoil". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  21. "Cheshire's chief constable 'humbled' following presentation of Queen's Police Medal". The Warrington Guardian. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
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