Sir John Charles Hoddinott (21 September 1944 – 13 August 2001) was a senior British police officer who rose through the ranks to become Chief Constable of

Hampshire Constabulary The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in South East England.Hampshire Constabulary, 2012 Retrieved 27 April 2012 The force area inc ...

. He was born in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

and educated at Barton Peveril Grammar School in

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

. Both his father and grandfather had served in the Hampshire Constabulary. Hoddinott however joined the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

as a cadet in 1961, becoming a constable in 1963, a sergeant in 1967 and an Inspector in 1969. In the latter year he attended

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, and was awarded a degree in Law and Economics in 1972. After returning to duty with the Metropolitan Police he was transferred to the Obscene Publications squad as a Chief Inspector and then to the Drug Quad as a Detective Superintendent. In 1981 he was put in charge of the CID at West End Central and promoted to Chief Superintendent. In June 1981 he transferred to the

Surrey Police Surrey Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Surrey in South East England. The force is currently led by Chief Constable Gavin Stephens. Previously the force was led by Nick Ephgrave who left the force ...

as Assistant Chief Constable before becoming Deputy Chief Constable of Hampshire Police in 1983. He finally became Chief Constable of Hampshire Police on 1 September 1988. He retired in 1999. He served as President of

Association of Chief Police Officers 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 ...

(ACPO) in 1994–95 and as a Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire.

Honours and awards

* 1988:

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 ...

(QPM) in the

1988 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1988 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 countries ...

* 1994 : Made

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

1994 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday. Publication dates vary from year to year. Most are published in supplements to the ''London Gazette'' and many are formally conferred by the monarch (or ...

* 1998 : Knighted in the

1998 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppleme ...

for services to the police. * Hoddinott Road,

(named after him)

Private life

Hoddinott married Avril Petheram in 1967. The couple had two daughters.

Death

Hoddinott died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 56 in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

on 13 August 2001. At the time, he was leading a review of the Operation Lancet inquiry into alleged malpractice in the

Cleveland Police Cleveland Police is the territorial police force responsible for the policing area corresponding to the former county of Cleveland in Northern England. As of September 2017, the force had 1,274 police officers, 278 police staff, 124 police com ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoddinott, John Charles 1944 births 2001 deaths People from Winchester Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British Chief Constables Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Deputy Lieutenants of Hampshire