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| Bernard Hogan-Howe | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bernard Hogan-Howe |
| Birth date | 1957 |
| Birth place | England |
| Occupation | Police officer |
| Office | Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service |
| Term | 2011–2017 |
Bernard Hogan-Howe (born 1957) is a retired English senior police officer who served as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service from 2011 to 2017. He previously held senior roles in the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Merseyside Police, and West Midlands Police, and has been associated with policing debates involving figures and institutions such as Theresa May, David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Sadiq Khan, and bodies including the Home Office, the College of Policing, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and the National Crime Agency.
Hogan-Howe was born in 1957 in England and raised in a family connected to Kelham Island industrial communities and South Yorkshire heritage near Doncaster and Rotherham. He attended local schools before training at police colleges and management programs linked to institutions like the University of Cambridge Institute for Criminology, the University of Birmingham, and the Royal College of Defence Studies executive courses. Early influences included public figures and events such as Margaret Thatcher, the 1970s energy crisis, the Troubles, and policing reforms following the Scarman Report and the Hillsborough disaster.
Hogan-Howe began his policing career with South Yorkshire Police and then served with the Police Service of Northern Ireland during the height of the Troubles, later transferring to Merseyside Police where he worked under chief constables involved with inquiries into the Hillsborough disaster and broader public order operations. He rose to chief constable of Humberside Police before appointment as Chief Constable of Merseyside Police in a period overlapping public debates involving Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and John Major over policing policy. He also worked alongside senior figures in the Association of Chief Police Officers and engaged with the European Union frameworks on cross-border crime, cooperating with agencies such as Europol and the International Criminal Police Organization.
Appointed Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service in 2011, Hogan-Howe led the force during mayoral terms of Boris Johnson and Sadiq Khan while interacting with ministers including Theresa May as Home Secretary and later Amber Rudd in subsequent governments. His tenure saw coordination with the Mayor of London office, collaboration with the Ministry of Defence on counterterrorism, and engagement with the Crown Prosecution Service and the Crown Prosecution Service leadership on charging decisions. He oversaw operational responses connected to events such as the 2012 London Olympics, the 2011 England riots, and counterterrorism operations linked to incidents like the 2013 Woolwich attack and the 2017 Westminster attack.
During his time in senior roles Hogan-Howe directed investigations and reforms touching on child sexual exploitation scandals linked to inquiries such as the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal and the Operation Yewtree inquiries following allegations connected to personalities like Jimmy Savile and investigations involving figures associated with BBC programming. He instituted reforms addressing officer misconduct and vetting in response to findings of the Barlow Inquiry era and the Leveson Inquiry debates on media and policing relations. He promoted initiatives aimed at improving relations with communities affected by incidents like the Stephen Lawrence murder and supported technological and organizational changes including use of data systems compatible with National Crime Agency frameworks, collaboration with the Metropolitan Police Authority predecessors, and adoption of practices advocated by the College of Policing.
Hogan-Howe faced criticism over stop-and-search practices and statistics during engagement with civil liberties groups such as Liberty and campaigns by community leaders in boroughs like Hackney, Tower Hamlets, and Lambeth, and scrutiny from politicians including Jeremy Corbyn, David Davis, and Tom Watson. He was criticized over performance metrics and budget cuts tied to austerity policies promoted by governments led by David Cameron and George Osborne, and faced media scrutiny from outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, The Times, and tabloid coverage in the Daily Mail and The Sun. High-profile controversies included responses to historic abuse investigations connected to Operation Midland, the handling of allegations involving parliamentary figures and celebrities, and tensions with oversight bodies including the Independent Police Complaints Commission and later the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Hogan-Howe has been married and has spoken publicly about family life in the context of police welfare issues, referencing charities and institutions such as the Police Federation of England and Wales, the Royal British Legion, and Victim Support. He received honours including appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and later a knighthood in recognition of services to policing, with ceremonial links to Buckingham Palace and presentations involving officials from the Cabinet Office and the Home Office. After retirement he engaged with charities, think tanks, and universities, contributing to public debates alongside figures from institutions like the Institute for Government, the Centre for Social Justice, and the Baker Street Foundation.
Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:English police officers Category:Metropolitan Police commissioners