Martin John Surl (born March 1957) is a retired British police officer and consultant who served as the Independent
Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner
The Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner is the police and crime commissioner, an elected official tasked with setting out the way crime is tackled by Gloucestershire Police in the English County of Gloucestershire. The post was created ...
from 2012 to 2021. The first person to hold the post, he was elected on 15 November 2012.
He was reelected in 2016. He was defeated by the
Conservative Party candidate in 2021, finishing third behind the Liberal Democrats.
Born and raised in
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
, Surl joined the
Gloucestershire Constabulary
Gloucestershire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire in England.
The force formerly covered the area of South Gloucestershire, however this was transformed to the ...
in May 1980. He later became a detective and was promoted to Superintendent in 2000. In 2001 he was seconded to the
Estonian Ministry of Justice
The Estonian Ministry of Justice ( et, Justiitsministeerium) is the Ministry of Justice of Estonia.
The Minister of Justice ( et, justiitsminister) is the senior minister at the Ministry of Justice in the Estonian Government. The Ministry is r ...
to help modernise that country's police service and develop crime reduction partnerships.
In 2005, Surl received the Estonian Order of Merit in recognition of his work to introduce child protection measures.
In 2006, Surl became a Director o
Baltic Leisure Enterprises Limited
In 2007, he was seconded to the
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 ...
,
Terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
and Allied Matters branch (ACPO, TAM) to help set up the UK's policing
anti-terrorism
Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...
network.
In 2012 Surl beat
Victoria Atkins
Victoria Mary Atkins (born 22 March 1976) is a British politician who has served as Financial Secretary to the Treasury since October 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, she was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Louth an ...
(Conservative) and two other candidates for the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commission. Atkins won on first preference votes, but Surl won the second preferences that were allocated. He was reelected on 5 May 2016 to another four-year term.
In 2013, Surl proposes and eventually receives a 2% increase in the police budget in order to tackle Cyber bullying and online fraud.
In 2021, Surl comes third in the local PCC elections and subsequently loses his position as the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner.
External links
Official Website
References
Police and crime commissioners in England
British police officers
Living people
1957 births
Independent police and crime commissioners
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