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 A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

. Then, from 1989 to 2008, he served as a

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

, working through each rank from detective constable to detective chief superintendent. In 2008, he became a

chief officer A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship ...

, 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 The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...

, 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Andy Living people 1964 births British police officers Chief Constables of Merseyside Police Chief Inspectors of Constabulary (England and Wales) British recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Deputy Lieutenants of Merseyside People educated at St Francis Xavier's College, Liverpool Alumni of the University of Nottingham