Michael Bernard Cunningham (born July 1961) is a former senior British Police officer and was the

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the

College of Policing The College of Policing is a professional body for the police in England and Wales. It was established in 2012 to take over a number of training and development roles that were the responsibility of the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA ...

between 15 January 2018 and December 2020. Prior to this role, he was

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 ...

from 2014-2017.

Early life and education

Cunningham graduated from the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

with a theology degree in 1984. Before joining the police he was a teacher for two years. In 2014,

Staffordshire University The University of Staffordshire is a public research university in Staffordshire, England. It has its main campus in Stoke-on-Trent and four other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield, Shrewsbury, and London. History In 1901, industrialist Alfred ...

bestowed the award of Honorary Doctor in recognition of his significant contribution to policing and law and order.

Police career

Cunningham joined

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 ...

in 1987 and after completing the police Strategic Command Course in 2005, he became Assistant Chief Constable, taking responsibility for operational policing. He later was the Chief Constable of

Staffordshire Police Staffordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands of England. It is made up of 11 local policing teams, whose boundaries are matched to the nine local authoritie ...

from September 2009 to 2014. In July 2014, he was appointed Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary. In January 2018, he became the chief executive of College of Policing. Despite announcing his retirement from policing, in April 2021 Cunningham joined Skills for Justice as an associate to “keep police leaders ahead of their game today to develop a service fit for tomorrow.”

Honours

Cunningham 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 the 2013 New Years Honours and was appointed

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 ...

(CBE) in the

2021 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2021 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to policing and public service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Mike British Chief Constables Living people English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal 1961 births Alumni of University College, Durham Inspectors of Constabulary Commanders of the Order of the British Empire