Sir Paul Joseph Scott-Lee QPM DL is a retired British police officer who served as Chief Constable of

Suffolk Constabulary Suffolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Suffolk in East Anglia, England. The force serves a population of 761,000 in a mostly rural area of 1,466 square miles (3,796 km2), including 49 miles of coastline and ...

and

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, W ...

Early life and career

Scott-Lee was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, and educated at Whitley Abbey Comprehensive School. Scott-Lee joined

Warwickshire and Coventry Constabulary Warwickshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Warwickshire in England. It is the second smallest territorial police force in England and Wales after the City of London Police, with only 823 (full-time equivalents ...

on direct from school, and on amalgamation of local forces to form the

in 1974, he rose to the rank of

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 ...

. Promoted to

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 ...

in 1988 in

Northamptonshire Police Northamptonshire Police (colloquially known as Northants Police) is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Northamptonshire in the East Midlands of England, in the United Kingdom. The Northampton Police area includ ...

, he became an area commander and latterly allocated to headquarters on both corporate planning and quality assurance. He then became assistant chief constable in August 1992 in

Kent Constabulary 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 ...

, responsible for all personnel and training matters. On 1 September 1994 he became deputy chief constable of

. 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 the

1997 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1997 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 ...

, he was promoted to Chief Constable on 2 October 1998.

Chief Constable of the West Midlands

Scott-Lee was appointed Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police in September 2002. Shortly after his appointment to the post, he had to deal with the

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

slayings of Letisha Shakespeare, 17, and Charlene Ellis, 18, who were shot outside a hair salon in

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston wa ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, on 2 January 2003. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours. In March 2008, after the legal outcomes were confirmed of Operation Gamble, Scott-Lee commented that "Terrorism is with us for the next 20 years." In the same month, Scott-Lee was appointed to head the official police inquiry into the death of

Michael J. Todd Michael James Todd QPM (10 August 1957 – 11 March 2008Michael ...

, the former Chief Constable of the

Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England. , Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott-Lee, Paul 1953 births Living people People from Coventry English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Knights Bachelor Deputy Lieutenants of the West Midlands (county) Chief Constables of West Midlands Police