Peter Joslin (born 26 October 1933) is a former British police officer and Deputy lieutenant of Warwickshire. He served as Chief Constable of

Warwickshire Police Warwickshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Warwickshire in England. It is the second smallest territorial police force in England and Wales after the City of London Police, with 1,126 regular officers as of Ju ...

, where he held the position for fifteen years from 1983 to 1998, becoming the county's longest serving police chief. In addition at the time of his retirement in 1998 he was also one of the United Kingdom's longest serving police officers, having served for 44 years.

Career

Joslin was educated at

King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford King Edward VI Grammar School, or KEGS, is a British grammar school with academy status located in the city of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It takes pupils between the ages of 11 and 18 (school years 7 to 13). For years 7 to 11 the school is boys ...

. After completing his

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

with the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

Joslin joined the Essex Constabulary in 1954. He worked for them for twenty years, serving as both a uniformed and CID officer, and also spent three years at

Essex University The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass universities. The university comprises three campuses in the county, in Southend-on-Sea and ...

studying for an honours degree in government and politics. In 1974 he left Essex Police to join the Leicestershire Constabulary, and in 1983 was appointed as Chief Constable of the neighbouring Warwickshire force. During his career Joslin campaigned on road safety and traffic issues. He also served as chairman of the

Association of Chief Police Officers The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) was a not-for-profit private limited company that for many years led the development of policing practices in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Established ...

traffic committee where he advocated tough drink-driving laws. He was also responsible for the introduction of speed cameras on British roads, but later became a critic of their excessive use. He was awarded the

Queen's Police Medal The King's Police Medal (KPM) is awarded to police in the United Kingdom for gallantry or distinguished service. It was also formerly awarded within the wider British Empire, including Commonwealth countries, most of which now have their own hono ...

in 1992. He retired from the police in October 1998, having served as Warwickshire Chief Constable for fifteen years, the county's longest serving police officer in that job. His 44-year service also made him Britain's longest serving police officer at the time of his retirement. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Warwickshire in 1999, and is also President of Warwickshire Association for the Blind. In November 2012 he attracted criticism from the government after urging voters to boycott the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

for

Police and Crime Commissioner A police and crime commissioner (PCC; ) is an elected official in England and Wales responsible for generally overseeing police services. A police, fire and crime commissioner (PFCC) is an elected official in England responsible for generally ...

s, saying that it would allow people with little experience of policing to take charge of law enforcement matters. "Here we are changing it so that people with little experience and few qualifications, and certainly little knowledge of the police, could be put in a position where they can go as far as sacking the chief constable."

Damian Green Damian Howard Green (born 17 January 1956) is a British politician who served as First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office from June to December 2017 in the second May government. A member of the Conservative Party, he s ...

, the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, branded Joslin's comments as "deeply irresponsible". His remarks also attracted criticism from the three candidates standing in the Warwickshire area. Joslin's son, Russell Joslin, was a BBC journalist. In the case following his suicide, Russell Joslin's account of sexual harassment by

Liz Kershaw Elizabeth Marguerita Mary Kershaw (born 30 July 1958) is an English radio broadcaster. She is one of the longest serving female national radio DJs in the UK, celebrating 30 years on national BBC Radio in 2017. Career After graduating from the ...

was brought to light.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joslin, Peter 1933 births Military personnel from Essex Living people People from Essex People educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford Alumni of the University of Essex Royal Corps of Signals soldiers British Chief Constables English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Deputy lieutenants of Warwickshire 20th-century British Army personnel