Nicholas Kenneth Alston (born 2 September 1952) is a British former

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Essex Police and Crime Commissioner. Alston was the first person to hold the post and was elected on 15 November 2012. The turn-out in Essex for the 2012 PCC election was 12.8%.

Biography

Alston was born on 2 September 1952 in Harwich. His father, Kenneth Alston, served in the Police Force for 37 years eventually rising to the rank of Deputy Chief Constable of Essex Police before retiring in 1971. Nick Alston attended King Edward VI Grammar School in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It ...

, before transferring to Queens' College, Cambridge to read

Natural Sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

in the same year as his father retired. Alston was commissioned as an officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

and then served for 30 years in the Civil Service. He was appointed

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 ...

(CBE) in the 1997 New Year Honours, at which time he was an assistant secretary with the Ministry of Defence. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Essex in 2017. In June 2016 appointed as the first Chair of the Policing Institute for the Eastern Region at Anglia Ruskin University based in Chelmsford, Essex and in December 2016 he was appointed as a non-executive Director of the UK's National Crime Agency. In November 2017 appointed as interim chair of the Mid Essex Hospital Services (NHS) Trust. It was announced in September 2018 that he would become Chair of the Essex Community Foundation.

Sources

1952 births Living people Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Civil servants in the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy Lieutenants of Essex People educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford People from Harwich Police and crime commissioners in England Royal Navy officers Conservative Party police and crime commissioners {{UK-law-enforcement-bio-stub