Michael Fuller (born 1959), also known as Mike Fuller, is a former Chief Constable of

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 ...

and Chief Inspector of the

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...

. He was the first (and so far only) ethnic minority chief constable in the United Kingdom and the first black officer of chief constable-equivalent rank. Fuller 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 ...

in 1975 as a cadet aged 16 and served in uniformed and

CID CID may refer to: Film * ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film * ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film * ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film Television * ''CID'' ( ...

positions throughout London. His service has included several postings at

New Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

. Whilst a

detective chief inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is use ...

stationed at

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

and

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, he devised an innovative burglary control programme which successfully reduced burglary. This was a forerunner to the London-wide

Operation Bumblebee Operation Bumblebee was a US Navy effort to develop surface to air missiles (SAMs) to provide a mid-range layer of anti-aircraft defence, between anti-aircraft guns in the short range and fighter aircraft operating at long range. A major reason f ...

. As DCI at

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

he devised innovative covert techniques to successfully reduce street robbery under the Operation Eagle Eye initiative. As a

detective superintendent Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...

he worked as a specialist staff officer seconded to

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), formerly Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the police forces of England and Wales, and since ...

based at the Home Office. He gave specialist advice on crime and terrorism issues and carried out inspections of police force Special Branches in relation to counter-terrorism. He also gave regular advice to the Chief HMI, Ministers and the Home Secretary. In 1998, he helped set up the Racial and Violent Crime Task Force in response to criticism of the Metropolitan Police arising from the

Stephen Lawrence Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

Inquiry. He subsequently served as a uniformed

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

and was the

chief superintendent Chief superintendent is a senior rank in police forces, especially in those organised on the United Kingdom, British model. Rank insignia of chief superintendent File:Sa-police-chief-superintendent.png, South Australia Police File:RCMP Chief Su ...

in charge of

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

, where he was successful in reducing street crime. In January 2000, as a

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

, he took command of West Area Serious Crime Group. As well as overseeing murder investigations, he set up Operation Trident to tackle gun crime within black communities in London. In 2001, he won the G2 ‘Man of the Year Award’ in recognition of his personal achievements and contribution to policing in London. In February 2002, he was promoted to deputy assistant commissioner. As well as heading the Metropolitan Police Drugs Directorate, he was also the Director of Intelligence, as part of a newly formed

Specialist Crime Directorate The Specialist Crime Directorate (SCD) was one of the main branches of London's Metropolitan Police Service. It provided highly visible specialist policing services across the whole of London. Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley had previously le ...

. On 5 January 2004 he took up his role as Chief Constable of Kent. On 16 February 2010, it was announced that following his qualification as a Barrister, Fuller would be leaving Kent Police to start his new role as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate. He was called to Bar at Lincoln's Inn on 26th July 2007. He retired from the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate in 2015 at the end of his 5-year appointment. He has written a book about his experiences in policing entitled ''Kill the Black One First" A Memoir of Hope and Justice', published in February 2019. In 2019, Fuller was awarded an honorary doctorate by

Arden University Arden University is a private, for-profit teaching university in the United Kingdom. It offers a variety of undergraduate and post-graduate programmes with both blended and online distance learning delivery options. Its head office is in C ...

for his "long-standing commitment to mentoring black officers and community support work". FE News (10 July 2019
"Arden University celebrates graduation ceremony with special honorary guests"
Retrieved 17 July 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuller, Michael 1959 births Alumni of the University of Cambridge Black British police officers English people of Jamaican descent Living people Alumni of the University of Sussex British Chief Constables Metropolitan Police chief officers People from Kent English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal