Martin Hewitt (police officer)

Martin James Hewitt, QPM (born 23 March 1966) is a senior British police officer, who has served as Chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council since May 2019.

Martin Hewitt QPM
Chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council
Incumbent
Assumed office May 2019
Preceded by	Sara Thornton
Personal details
Born	(1966-03-23) 23 March 1966

Early life and education

Hewitt was born on 23 March 1966 in London, England. He was educated at the Salesian College, Battersea, an all-boys Catholic school in London.[1]

Hewitt's first career was in the military, serving in the British Army for seven years.[2] Having attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Artillery as a second lieutenant on ll April 1987.[3] He was promoted to lieutenant on 11 April 1989.[4] He was transferred to the reserve of officers on 31 January 1993, thereby ending his active service.[5]

Police career

Hewitt moved to the police, joining Kent Police in 1993 and transferring to the Metropolitan Police in 2005. He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in 2014.[6] He was the Metropolitan Police's Assistant Commissioner (Professionalism) until April 2016, when he became Assistant Commissioner (Territorial Policing).[7] That role was renamed Assistant Commissioner Frontline Policing in 2018,[8] and he held it until the end of that year, when his appointment as chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) was announced - he had previously been its deputy chair since 2015. He took up his role as chair in April 2019, succeeding Sara Thornton,[9] and with Mark Simmons succeeding him as Assistant Commissioner Frontline Policing.[10] He has also led national-level police responses to kidnap and adult sexual offences.

His first interview, in January 2020, as head of the NPCC lays out his approach.[11]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he spoke as part of the government's team for daily briefings.[12]

Personal life

Hewitt is married, with four children.[11]

Honours

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Queen's Police Medal (QPM)	2014
	General Service Medal	With "Northern Ireland" clasp
	UNFICYP	90 Days service with peacekeeping mission in Cyprus
	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal	2002; UK Version
	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	2012; UK Version
	Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

References

1. "Hewitt, Martin James". Who's Who 2019. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2019. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U282717. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
2. "Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt, Chair of the NPCC".
3. "No. 50965". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 1987. pp. 7682–7683.
4. "No. 51696". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 April 1989. p. 4291.
5. "No. 53211". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 February 1993. p. 2304.
6. "Police Federation - Newsroom - Twenty-eight police officers and staff recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours".
7. "Senior Management". Metropolitan Police.
8. "Executive Structure" (PDF). Metropolitan Police. June 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2018.
9. "Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt appointed to lead National Police Chiefs' Council from April 2019". 12 November 2018.
10. "Executive Structure". Metropolitan Police. January 2019. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019.
11. Dearden, Lizzie (4 January 2020). "The police chief who believes arrests aren't the key to fighting rising crime". The Independent.
12. Corbishley, Sam (11 April 2020). "UK crime down 21% due to coronavirus lockdown". Metro. Retrieved 11 April 2020.

Police appointments
Preceded by Sara Thornton	Chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council 2019 to	Incumbent