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Black chief constable hopes to step up to senior role at Met
Justin Davenport19 May 2009
Britain's highest ranking black police officer has applied to the post of Deputy Commissioner at Scotland Yard.
Mike Fuller, the chief constable of Kent, is one of four candidates for the £204,075 role. The others include the current Acting Deputy Tim Godwin, the chief constable of Merseyside Bernard Hogan-Howe and Steve Otter, the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall constabulary.
The successful candidate will be appointed by the Home Secretary and will be a front-runner for the post of Commissioner when the newly appointed Sir Paul Stephenson steps down after his five years in charge.
For the third consecutive time in recent years the deputy has stepped up to take the commissioner's role. Both Mr Fuller, 50, and Mr Hogan-Howe, 51, were among the recent candidates for the post of Commissioner. The Merseyside chief constable, who is a former high ranking Met officer, was in the final shortlist of three.
Mr Fuller, a former senior Met officer, was born in south London to Jamaican-born immigrants and became a Met Police cadet at a time when there were only five other black officers in the force.
He also recently applied to be chief constable of British Transport Police but was beaten to the post by the force's deputy.
Mr Otter, 46, who was born in Bethnal Green, worked for the Hong Kong police and spent 11 years in the Met including spending time as the borough commander of Kensington and Chelsea.
He is currently the lead officer on race and diversity for the Association of Chief Police Officers.
Mr Godwin, 49, who left home at 16 to join the Merchant Navy, is one of the Met's most experienced senior officers and was in charge of Territorial Policing, which is responsible for Safer Neighbourhood Teams, before he took up his current role.
The current Commissioner is likely to have an influence on who his deputy will be but a final decision will be made by the Home Secretary who is also expected to consult the Mayor.
Interviews are expected to start at the end of this month and a final decision is expected in July.
A recent advertisement for the post stated that the successful candidate should have “proven leadership skills in the most challenging elements of operational policing” and be “an innovative individual and supportive team player who is also a key leader of policing nationally.
Reader views (9)
Most of these comments are a load of bull. I worked closely with Mike F and he was a man of integrity and highly respected. He achieved a lot against all odds. He set led Trident, tackled street robbery and was always respected by the black and white communities in which he worked. Look at the other candidates and his critics-what have they done???
- Orville, London, 19/05/2009 23:09
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Welcome back to the Met Mike Fuller. Boris missed a great opportunity when he agreed to appoint Stephenson over Hugh Orde as the latest police Commissioner. If he had done so Bob Quick would probably have been forced out a lot earlier, rather than waiting for him to make another stupendous 'balls up'. With Hugh Orde as Commissioner and Mike Fuller as Deputy Commissioner the Met, and its staff, would have the confidence to move forward and away from the politicised era of Blair and Co. As it is Stephenson does not know which way to turn, one moment he is criticising his own officers in public, the next he is praising them for their restraint in policing G20. I see another 5 years of rudderless leadership.
- Pete, South of England, 19/05/2009 17:28
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At least he has courage and integrity and is independent. He's not afraid to speak out! He was the first chief constable to speak out on police pay, migration and criminal justice! It's a shame a few more chiefs won't speak out like him.
- Geoff, London, 19/05/2009 17:06
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Mike, Kent- they are all the same. NuLiebour politicised the command ranks of the Police in order to push their politically correct agenda and obssession with gathering statistics about the general public.
Every officer of chief inspector rank and above is a politician first and a police officer second, if at all.
The only way to climb the ranks in the modern British police service is to satisfy the liberal left's required socio-political profile. Policing skills (or what most of us would consider to be policing skills) are irrelevant.
- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster, 19/05/2009 16:25
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He's not all bad.Kent has done well under his leadership. Look at what he's done. He's increased confidence in the police in Kent, reduced crime, goes on radio, oversaw the Tonbridge Robbery and is a real leader. The government set the targets not him. Well miss him if he goes.
- Geroge, Tenderden, Kent, 19/05/2009 13:54
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Talk to Police officers under his command and they will tell you he's a paper Policeman more concerned with meeting targets rather than dealing with serious crimes - a perfect puppet for Labour then.
- Mike, Kent UK, 19/05/2009 11:06
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No doubt he will be looking to sue the Met if he does not get the job.
- Richard K, Nottingham, 19/05/2009 10:26
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Another PC job for the boys, its about time our coppers did some real work on the streets instead of behind their leather bound desks and ivory towers.
I live in Kent and know a few Police officers, who express their complete contempt for Mr "Fuller Bull", his idea of policing is ordering his men to target drivers without seat belts all day long, and if they have not reached their targets, they get disciplined!
Now that's what I call a waster.
- George, Hempstead - Kent, 19/05/2009 09:59
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I have to ask why a deputy is needed. There are far too many ACPO ranks in the Met hierarchy. Originally there were TWO police commissioners for the Metropolis, in 1856 an Assistant Commissioner rank was introduced when only one commissioner was introduced. The rank of deputy commissioner (introduced in the 1930's) seems superfluous - especially today. There are also numerous Deputy Assistant Commissioners and Commanders whose respective roles seem to overlap and become blurred with every reorganisation. It is clearly time for a proper examination of the ACPO ranks within the Met by the GLA and the MPA. They'd save a few bob too - can't be bad.
- Ranter, Maidstone, UK, 19/05/2009 09:14
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