Sara Thornton (police officer)

Sara Thornton
CBE QPM
Chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council
Assumed office
April 2015
Preceded by Sir Hugh Orde
(as Chair of the ACPO)
Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police
In office
2007–2015
Preceded by Peter Neyroud
Succeeded by Francis Habgood
Personal details
Born (1962-12-27) 27 December 1962
Poole, Dorset, England
Citizenship United Kingdom
Nationality British
Alma mater Durham University
University of Cambridge
Awards Queen's Police Medal (2006)
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2011)

Sara Joanne Thornton, CBE, QPM (born 27 December 1962) is a British police officer who is the first head of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the former Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police[1][2] and Vice President of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). She is the second consecutive head of the Thames Valley Police to move onto leadership of a national policing body; at Thames Valley she replaced former Chief Constable Peter Neyroud who, in January 2007, moved to the role of Chief Executive of the National Policing Improvement Agency.

Early life and education

Thornton was born on 27 December 1962 in Poole, Dorset.[3] She attended the University of Durham and gained a BA in philosophy and politics. Thornton also has a Diploma in Applied Criminology from the Cambridge Institute of Criminology.[3]

Police career

Thornton's policing career began with the Metropolitan Police in 1986. For the next 14 years she alternated between operational postings in West London and strategic roles within New Scotland Yard. She joined Thames Valley Police as the Assistant Chief Constable for Specialist Operations in November 2000 and was appointed Deputy Chief Constable in August 2003, where her responsibilities included performance and developing the strategic direction for the Force. More recently she has played a pivotal role in implementing Neighbourhood Policing across the Thames Valley.

In 2007, Thornton became Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police.[4] In 2010, Thornton promised to raise the detection rate of crimes by Thames Valley Police, which was then the lowest in the country at 14%.[5][6] In 2013, it was revealed that Thames Valley Police had ignored the rape of hundreds of English girls under Thornton's tenure.[7] Thornton rejected calls from the mothers of the victims for her to take responsibility.[8]

On 1 December 2014, it was announced that Thornton would leave Thames Valley Police to become the Chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council, (NPCC) effectively taking over from Sir Hugh Orde.[9] The NPCC replaced the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in April 2015. Thornton also took over from Sir Hugh Orde as Patron of the Police Roll of Honour Trust.[10]

Honours

In June 2006 she was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM).[11] In the 2011 New Year Honours, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "for services to the police".[12] [13]

In February 2013 she was assessed as the 18th most powerful woman in Britain by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4.[14]

References

Police appointments
Preceded by
Peter Neyroud		 Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police
2007 to 2015 		Succeeded by
Francis Habgood
Preceded by
Sir Hugh Orde
as President of the ACPO		 Chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council
2015 to present 		Incumbent
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