Robert Alan Hunt (6 July 193515 May 2013) was a senior British police officer. He served as Assistant Commissioner from 1990 to 1995 with responsibility for operations at all police stations throughout the Metropolitan Police Service.

Early life

Hunt was born on 6 July 1935, in Camberwell, London. He was the youngest of five children. His mother was Minnie Hunt who had been a servant at Clandon Park, Surrey. His father, Peter Hunt, was a Scottish miner who had been awarded the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He spent his childhood living in

Herne Hill Herne Hill is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the borou ...

. He was educated at Effra Parade Primary School and

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school for Single-sex education, boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a Public school (United Kingdom), public school, it began as the Col ...

. In 1946, having done well in his

Eleven-Plus exam The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academi ...

, he was offered a full scholarship to attend

, a public school in southeast London. Following school, he undertook his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

between 1953 and 1955. He joined the other ranks on the advice of his father, even though he had the option to take a commission and serve as an officer.

Career

Hunt joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1955, partly because it offered married quarters. During his first briefing at his local Brixton station, he learnt that he had lived alongside many known criminals in the Herne Hill council flats of his youth. He spent his early years in the force policing multicultural

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

areas in South London. He joined New Scotland Yard's Community Relations branch. During his time there he devised a new model for police visits to schools which was later adopted nationwide. He also worked on the increasingly urgent issue of relations between the police and London's black communities. He garnered a reputation for establishing public order during the 1968 anti-war demonstration in Grosvenor Square. He became a

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 the 1973, at the height of the IRA bombing campaign. He was involved in the successful ending of the 1975

Balcombe Street Siege The Balcombe Street siege was an incident involving members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and London's Metropolitan Police lasting from 6 to 12 December 1975. The siege ended with the surrender of the four IRA members and the r ...

and escaped being blown up during a bombing of Madame Tussauds. He was promoted to Commander in 1976. He was appointed head of the public order branch 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' ...

in 1977, serving in that position for two years. He created the Gold (strategic), Silver (tactical) and Bronze (implementation) command structure for policing disorder, which is still in use. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Commissioner in 1982, becoming responsible for operational policing in a quarter of London. During that posting he was closely involved in far-reaching organisational reforms of the Metropolitan Police Service. From 1987 to 1990, he headed the Force Inspectorate. On 1 September 1990, he was promoted to Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis. He served as Assistant Commissioner Territorial Operations, with responsibility for operations at all police stations throughout London. In 1993, he was asked by the commissioner, Sir Paul Condon, to head a radical reorganisation of the Metropolitan Police to create a modern managerial structure and philosophy. He retired from the police in April 1995 as the longest serving Metropolitan Police Officer. In his retirement message he summed up his policing philosophy:

Later life

Following his retirement, he went on to act as an adviser to police forces in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

and the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = " Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Bri ...

. He lived in

Banstead Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It is south of Sutton, south-west of Croydon, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London. On the North Downs, it is on three of the four main ...

, Surrey, England. He died on 15 May 2013, aged 77.

Personal life

Hunt met a nursery school teacher, Jean, during his national service. In 1956, he and Jean White married. Together they had three daughters and a son; Gay, Sharon, Tracey, and Murray. He underwent a triple heart bypass operation in 1986.

Honours

In the 1985

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, Hunt was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In June 1986, he was appointed Member of the Venerable Order of Saint John (MStJ). He 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 ...

for Distinguished Service in the

1992 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1992 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 countri ...

Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon

Police Long Service and Good Conduct ribbon

References

External links

Obituary – The GuardianObituary – The Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Robert 1935 births 2013 deaths Assistant Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis People educated at Dulwich College Royal Artillery soldiers Officers of the Order of the British Empire English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Metropolitan Police recipients of the Queen's Police Medal People from Camberwell