Sir John Woodcock (14 January 1932 – 21 September 2012) was

Chief Inspector of Constabulary His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), formerly Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the police forces of England and Wales, and since ...

from January 1990 to July 1993.HMIC Profile
/ref> Woodcock joined the

Lancashire Constabulary Lancashire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Lancashire in North West England. The force's headquarters are at Hutton, Lancashire, Hutton, near the cit ...

as a

Police cadet A police cadet can refer either to a trainee police officer or to a member of a youth organisation in which young people learn about and/or participate in law enforcement and police work. Many police departments in the United States offer police ...

in 1947. Between 1950 and 1952 he served in the Special Investigation Branch of the

Royal Military Police The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operations ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. He rejoined the Lancashire Constabulary after the war as a Constable rising to the rank of Chief Inspector by 1965. In 1965, he transferred to the Bedfordshire and Luton Constabulary and was promoted to

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super" *Prison warden or superintendent, a prison administrator *Soprin ...

and then

Chief Superintendent Chief superintendent is a senior rank in police forces, especially in those organised on the United Kingdom, British model. Rank insignia of chief superintendent File:Sa-police-chief-superintendent.png, South Australia Police File:RCMP Chief S ...

. In 1968 he transferred to

Gwent Constabulary Gwent Police () is a territorial police force in Wales, responsible for policing the local authority areas of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen. The force was formed in 1967 by the amalgamation of Monmouthshire ...

and was promoted to

Assistant Chief Constable Assistant chief constable (ACC) is the third highest rank in all British territorial police forces (except the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police, in which the equivalent rank is commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as C ...

and then in 1970 to Deputy Chief Constable. Woodcock then served as Deputy Chief Constable of

Devon and Cornwall Constabulary Devon and Cornwall Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial counties of Devon and Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly) in South West England. The force serves approximately 1.8 million people over an a ...

from 1974 to 1978. After this he was promoted Chief Constable of

North Yorkshire Police North Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force covering the unitary authority, unitary authorities of North Yorkshire and the City of York in northern England. As of April 2024 the force had a strength of 1,665 police officers, 127 spe ...

, holding the post for one year. Then he was appointed Chief Constable of

South Wales Constabulary South Wales Police (; SWP) is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. It is headquartered in Bridgend. The force was formed as South Wales Constabulary on 1 June 1969, by the amalgamation of the former Glamorgan Constabulary, Cardi ...

from 1979 to 1983. Whereafter he became

HM Inspector of Constabulary His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) is a public body of the Scottish Government that reports to the Scottish Parliament. It has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the effectiveness and efficiency of the p ...

for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

the Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefords ...

until 1990.‘WOODCOCK, Sir John’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, April 201
accessed 15 May 2016
/ref> In 1990, he was appointed

, a post he held for three years, before retiring in 1993.

Awards

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 1976. He was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1983, and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1989.

United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon

UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon

Police Long Service and Good Conduct ribbon

References

British Chief Constables People from Preston, Lancashire 1932 births 2012 deaths Devon and Cornwall Police recipients of the Queen's Police Medal English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Chief Inspectors of Constabulary (England and Wales) Commanders of the Order of St John Royal Military Police soldiers British Army personnel of the Korean War {{UK-law-enforcement-bio-stub