Nicholas Kenneth Alston (born 2 September 1952) is a British former

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Essex Police and Crime Commissioner. Alston was the first person to hold the post and was elected on 15 November 2012. The turn-out in Essex for the 2012 PCC election was 12.8%.

Biography

Alston was born on 2 September 1952 in

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

. His father, Kenneth Alston, served in the Police Force for 37 years eventually rising to the rank of Deputy Chief Constable of

Essex Police Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex, in the East of England. Essex Police is responsible for a population of over 1.8 million people and an area of . The chief constable is Ben-Julian Harring ...

before retiring in 1971. Nick Alston attended King Edward VI Grammar School in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

, before transferring to

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

to read

Natural Sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

in the same year as his father retired. Alston was commissioned as an officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and then served for 30 years in the Civil Service. He 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 1997 New Year Honours, at which time he was an assistant secretary with the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Essex in 2017. In June 2016 appointed as the first Chair of the Policing Institute for the Eastern Region at Anglia Ruskin University based in Chelmsford, Essex and in December 2016 he was appointed as a non-executive Director of the UK's National Crime Agency. In November 2017 appointed as interim chair of the Mid Essex Hospital Services (NHS) Trust. It was announced in September 2018 that he would become Chair of the Essex Community Foundation. Alston was

High Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of th ...

in 2022.

Sources

1952 births Living people Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Civil servants in the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy lieutenants of Essex People educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford People from Harwich Police and crime commissioners in England Royal Navy officers Conservative Party police and crime commissioners {{UK-law-enforcement-bio-stub