Alastair McWhirter QPM is a British retired senior police officer. Born in 1953 in

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

, he was educated at

Hamilton Academy Hamilton Academy was a school in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The school was described as "one of the finest schools in Scotland" in the Cambridge University Press County Biography of 1910, and was featured in a 1950 Scottish Seconda ...

and

Aberdeen University , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

where he studied for an MA in English and History; this was followed by a

Post Graduate Certificate of Education The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) is a one- or two-year higher education course in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which provides training in order to allow graduates to become teachers within maintained schools. In ...

at Aberdeen Teacher Training College. Alastair McWhirter was the 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 and ...

. He came to public prominence during the police 2006 Suffolk serial killer investigation in Ipswich in December 2006, one of the most prolific killers in recent British criminal history. He taught English and drama in Winchester and joined Hampshire Constabulary in 1977. He served in all ranks up to Chief Superintendent in Hampshire working in cities and more rural areas with diverse populations and policing challenges. McWhirter was in 1996 appointed Assistant Chief Constable (Operations) in the Wiltshire Constabulary, responsible for all operational policing. He was largely responsible for returning the policing of the summer Solstice at Stonehenge back to 'normality' after a decade of confrontation with

new Age travellers New Age travellers, not completely synonymous with but otherwise shortened to New Travellers (often referred to as "crusties"), are people in the United Kingdom generally espousing New Age beliefs along with the hippie culture of the 1960s (over ...

and assorted Druid groups. He successfully developed the first joint Fire Police and Ambulance control room to share both a room and a computer system. In 2000, he was appointed Deputy Chief Constable and he was appointed Chief Constable of Suffolk Constabulary in 2003. Alastair McWhirter was also the national spokesperson on rural policing for the Association of Chief Police Officers -

ACPO The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) was a not-for-profit private limited company that for many years led the development of policing practices in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Established ...

. He represented the police service during the Hunting debate from 1998–2006 and was disliked by both pro- and anti- hunting groups for refusing to take sides in the fraught debate. McWhirter 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 of Nations, Commonwealth countries, most of whic ...

in the

2002 New Year Honours New Years' Honours are announced on or around the date of the New Year in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements to the London Ga ...

. He left the police in 2007, after reaching 30 years service. He was replaced as Suffolk's chief constable by Simon Ash, previously the deputy chief constable of Hertfordshire Police. He was Chair of Suffolk Primary Care Trust from 2007-2013. Suffolk Primary Care Trust - board members' biographies

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McWhirter, Alastair British Chief Constables Living people People educated at Hamilton Academy Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Scottish recipients of the Queen's Police Medal 1953 births