Martin James Hewitt, (born 23 March 1966) is a senior British police officer, who has served as Chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council since May 2019.

Early life and education

Hewitt was born on 23 March 1966 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. He was educated at the

Salesian College, Battersea Salesian College was a Roman Catholic voluntary-aided school for boys aged 11 to 16 (previously 11 to 18, until it had to jettison its Sixth Form). It was founded in 1895 in Battersea, London London is the capital and largest city of En ...

, an all-boys

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

in London. He would later attend the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

, completing a postgraduate diploma in criminal justice studies in 2000. Hewitt's first career was in the military, serving in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

for seven years. Having attended the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

, he was commissioned into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on 11 April 1987. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 11 April 1989. He was transferred to the reserve of officers on 31 January 1993, thereby ending his active service.

Police career

Hewitt moved to the police, joining

Kent Police Kent Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the and approximately 1.8 million inhabitants of Kent, a county in the south east of England. History On 14 January 1857, a 222-strong 'Kent County Constabulary' was formed u ...

in 1993 and transferring to 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 ...

in 2005. He 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 2014. He was the Metropolitan Police's Assistant Commissioner (Professionalism) until April 2016, when he became Assistant Commissioner (Territorial Policing). That role was renamed Assistant Commissioner Frontline Policing in 2018, and he held it until the end of that year. He had been deputy chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) since 2015. He took up his role as chair of the NPCC in April 2019, succeeding Sara Thornton, and with Mark Simmons succeeding him as Assistant Commissioner Frontline Policing. He has also led national-level police responses to kidnap and adult sexual offences. His first interview, in January 2020, as head of the NPCC lays out his approach. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, he spoke as part of the government's team for daily briefings.

Personal life

Hewitt is divorced, with four children.

Honours

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal

Police Long Service and Good Conduct ribbon

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewitt, Martin Assistant Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis Royal Artillery officers Living people English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Metropolitan Police recipients of the Queen's Police Medal 1966 births Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst