Philip Douglas Knights, Baron Knights, (3 October 1920 – 11 December 2014) was an English police officer who served as Chief Constable of

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, ...

, succeeding West Midlands Police's first Chief Constable, Sir

Derrick Capper Sir William Derrick Capper (3 January 1912 – 21 March 1977) was an English police officer and the first Chief Constable of West Midlands Police. Early life and education Derrick Capper (as he preferred to continue being known after knighth ...

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Career

Knights joined

Lincolnshire Police Lincolnshire Police is the territorial police force covering the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire in the East Midlands of England. Despite the name, the force's area does not include North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire, which ...

as a Cadet in 1938, becoming a Constable in 1940 and completed training at the (now defunct) Police Staff College in

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

, Lincolnshire. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

between 1943 until 1945. Knights returned to Lincolnshire Police, reaching the rank of

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

in 1957. He moved to the

Birmingham City Police Birmingham City Police was the police service responsible for general policing in the city of Birmingham from 1839 to 1974. The force was established by a special Act of Parliament in 1839, and was amalgamated as of 1 April 1974 with the West M ...

in 1959 as an Assistant Chief Constable and rose to the rank of Deputy Chief Constable in 1970. In 1972 he moved to

Sheffield and Rotherham Constabulary Sheffield and Rotherham Constabulary was a short-lived police force in England from 1 June 1967 to 31 March 1974. It was created as a merger of the Sheffield City Police and Rotherham Borough Police, and covered the adjacent county boroughs of S ...

as Chief Constable. In 1974, Sheffield and Rotherham Constabulary amalgamated with parts of

West Yorkshire Constabulary The West Yorkshire Constabulary (WYC) was, from 1968 to 1974, the statutory police force for the West Riding of Yorkshire, in northern England. It was formed under the Police Act 1964, and was a merger of the previous West Riding Constabulary a ...

to become

South Yorkshire Police South Yorkshire Police (SYP) is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England. The force is led by Chief Constable Lauren Poultney. Oversight is conducted by Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings. T ...

. Knights returned to

where he was appointed Chief Constable. He was described as a 'true architect' of the new force, bringing together six separate forces into one.

Controversy

In 1983 the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuc ...

activist Madeline Haigh criticised Knights for not disciplining West Midlands Special Branch who investigated her after she wrote to a local newspaper complaining about the cancellation of a peace march. Knights defended the case by saying it "fell within the terms of reference of the Special Branch."

Honours and awards

Knights 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 countries, most of which now have their own hono ...

in 1964 and then appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1971. Knights was promoted to a Commander (CBE) in 1976 and knighted in 1980. He was Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands in 1985 and was created a life peer on 22 July 1987 as Baron Knights, of

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family a ...

in the County of West Midlands. He sat as a crossbencher in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

until his death in 2014.

Personal life

Knights was vice-president of the

Warwickshire County Cricket Club Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Warwickshire. Its T20 team is called the Birmingham Bears. Founde ...

, the Birmingham County Scout Council and the Birmingham Federation of Clubs for Young People. and patron of the Police History Society. He had a considerable interest in classical music and became the patron of the British Police Symphony Orchestra from 1997 until his death. The orchestra had been formed in 1989 by Police Constable Alexander Roe of West Midlands Police. His spouse was Jean Knights.

References

External links

Parliamentary biography

Knights' Parliamentary contributions
via ''

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official prin ...

'' 1920 births 2014 deaths Crossbench life peers People from Grantham Knights Bachelor English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy Lieutenants of the West Midlands (county) Warwickshire County Cricket Club Chief Constables of West Midlands Police Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Birmingham City Police {{UK-law-enforcement-bio-stub