Patrick Tomkins QPM was appointed HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland by Royal Warrant in March 2007 and retired from the post in April 2009. He was formerly the Chief Constable of

Lothian and Borders Police Lothian and Borders Police was the territorial police force for the Scottish council areas of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian between 1975 and 2013. The force's headquarters were in Fett ...

, which he joined in 2002 and was succeeded by David Strang. He initially joined

Sussex Police Sussex Police are the territorial police force responsible for policing in the whole of Sussex. Their jurisdiction covers the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. Their headquarters are in Malling House, Lewes, East Sussex. Hi ...

in 1979 and in 1993 transferred to the Metropolitan Police Service as a

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 ...

. He served as divisional commander at Paddington Green before being promoted to Commander to attend the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest leve ...

in 1997, where he took the prize for the best research paper that year . He served as Commander (Crime) for the then 1 Area (Central), where he led a multi-force search for the serial rapist Richard Baker, and was the day shift Gold commander for the policing of the occupation of the Greek Embassy in London in 1999. In 1999 he was seconded to

HM Inspectorate 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 ...

(England and Wales) as a Deputy Assistant Commissioner. He was educated at

Hastings Grammar School Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west at Senlac Hill in 1066. ...

and

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

where he took First Class Honours in

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

. In 2012 he attained the degree of

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

Classical Studies Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages ...

from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

. He attended the UK

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

Top Management Programme (TMP 58) in 2000. 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 ...

, for distinguished police service, in the

2006 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2006 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2006, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2006.Saint Lucia list: Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before t ...

. He is a company director and lives in

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

. He is widowed and has two adult children.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People educated at Hastings Grammar School Alumni of King's College London Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Sussex Police officers Deputy Assistant Commissioners in the Metropolitan Police British Chief Constables Lothian and Borders Police officers Scottish police officers Chief Inspectors of Constabulary (Scotland) Scottish recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Metropolitan Police recipients of the Queen's Police Medal {{UK-law-enforcement-bio-stub