Andy Cooke (police)

Andrew James Cooke, (born 10 March 1964) is a British public servant and former police officer. Since 1 April 2022, he has served as His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary and His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services. He had served as a police officer and detective with Merseyside Police and Lancashire Constabulary, rising to become Chief Constable of Merseyside Police from 2016 to 2021.

Biography

Cooke was born on 10 March 1964 in Liverpool, England. He was educated at St Francis Xavier's College, then a Catholic grammar school in Liverpool. He studied politics at the University of Nottingham, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1985.

In 1985, Cooke joined Merseyside Police as a constable. Then, from 1989 to 2008, he served as a detective, working through each rank from detective constable to detective chief superintendent. In 2008, he became a chief officer, having been appointed assistant chief constable of Lancashire Constabulary. He was ACC Specialist Operations and ACC Territorial Operations. He returned to Merseyside Police in 2013 as its deputy chief constable, before being appointed its chief constable in 2016. In addition to the roles he held within his force, he was national policing lead for witness protection (2008–2017), for serious and organised crime (2017–2019), and for crime business area (2019–2021).

In February 2021, it was announced that he had been appointed an Inspector of Constabulary for England and Wales: he took up the appointment on 12 April 2021. In March 2022, it was revealed that he was the British government's preferred candidate for the joint role of HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary and Chief Fire & Rescue Inspector in England. He took up the posts on 12 April 2021, in succession to Sir Tom Winsor.

In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours, Cooke was awarded the Queen's Police Medal for Distinguished Service (QPM) for his service as Deputy Chief Constable of Merseyside Police. In September 2021, he was made a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) to the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside.

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