Sir Paul Joseph Scott-Lee KPM DL is a retired British police officer who served as Chief Constable of

Suffolk Constabulary Suffolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Suffolk in East Anglia, England. The force serves a population of 761,000 in a mostly rural area of 1,466 square miles (3,796 km2), including 49 miles of coastline a ...

and

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of ...

Early life and career

Scott-Lee was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, and educated at Whitley Abbey Comprehensive School. Scott-Lee joined Warwickshire and Coventry Constabulary on direct from school, and on amalgamation of local forces to form the

in 1974, he rose to the rank of Chief Inspector. Promoted to Superintendent in 1988 in

Northamptonshire Police Northamptonshire Police (colloquially known as Northants Police) is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Northamptonshire in the East Midlands of England, in the United Kingdom. The Northamptonshire police area i ...

, he became an area commander and latterly allocated to headquarters on both corporate planning and quality assurance. He then became assistant chief constable in August 1992 in

Kent Constabulary Kent Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the and approximately 1.8 million inhabitants of Kent, a county in South East England. History On 14 January 1857, a 222-strong 'Kent County Constabulary' was formed under Ch ...

, responsible for all personnel and training matters. On 1 September 1994 he became deputy chief constable of

. 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

1997 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

, he was promoted to Chief Constable on 2 October 1998.

Chief Constable of the West Midlands

Scott-Lee was appointed Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police in September 2002. Shortly after his appointment to the post, he had to deal with the

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

slayings of Letisha Shakespeare, 17, and Charlene Ellis, 18, who were shot outside a hair salon in

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Located immediately to the north-west of Birmingham city centre, Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a wards of the United Kingdom, war ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, on 2 January 2003. He 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 the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours. In March 2008, after the legal outcomes were confirmed of Operation Gamble, Scott-Lee commented that "Terrorism is with us for the next 20 years." In the same month, Scott-Lee was appointed to head the official police inquiry into the death of Michael J. Todd, the former Chief Constable of the

Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England. , Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott-Lee, Paul 1953 births Living people People from Coventry English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Knights Bachelor Deputy lieutenants of the West Midlands (county) Chief Constables of West Midlands Police