Sir Stephen House (born 1957) is a British police officer who served as Acting

Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service. Sir Mark Rowley was appointed to the post on 8 July 2022 after Dame Cressida Dick announced her resignation in February. The rank of Commissione ...

in 2022. After beginning his career at

Sussex Police Sussex Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing in the whole of Sussex. Its jurisdiction covers the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. The force is headquartered in Malling House, Lewes, East Sussex. His ...

in 1981, House held positions 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 ...

and

West Yorkshire Police West Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the fourth largest territorial police force in England and Wales by number of officers. History West Yor ...

, then became Assistant Chief Constable of

Staffordshire Police Staffordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands of England. It is made up of eleven Local Policing Teams, whose boundaries are matched to the nine local authorit ...

in 1998. In 2001, he 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 ...

as a Deputy Assistant Commissioner, remaining there until 2007, when he was appointed Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police. Following the establishment of

Police Scotland Police Scotland ( gd, Poileas Alba), officially the Police Service of Scotland (), is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, through the merging of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist service ...

in 2012, House was appointed the new force's first chief constable, but stood down in 2015 following a series of controversies. In 2018 House returned to the Metropolitan Police as an Assistant Commissioner, becoming Deputy Commissioner to

Cressida Dick Dame Cressida Rose Dick (born 16 October 1960) is a British retired senior police officer who served as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 2017 to 2022. She is both the first female and first openly homosexual officer to lead the Me ...

later that year. After Dick left office in April 2022, House was Acting

until September 2022. He currently leads a review of operational productivity in policing at the

National Police Chiefs' Council The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) is a national coordination body for law enforcement in the United Kingdom and the representative body for British police chief officers. Established on 1 April 2015, it replaced the former Association o ...

Early life

House was born in Glasgow in 1957 and attended the independent

Kelvinside Academy Kelvinside Academy is an independent day school in Glasgow, Scotland, founded in 1878. It has a capacity of over 600 pupils and spans two years of Nursery, six years of Junior School (primary school), a transition year of Senior Preparatory, and ...

. When he was 11, his family moved to London, where he continued to be privately educated in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

. His father, William, worked for the

Imperial Cancer Research Fund Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

, while his mother, Alice, worked in a laboratory before becoming a full-time parent to her children. He has a younger brother, Jon, who was also a senior police officer and was later chief executive of

Cardiff Council Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Cyngor Sir Dinas a Sir Caerdydd) is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...

. House returned to Scotland in 1976, to study History and English Literature at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

Career

Early police career

House joined

in 1981. He cites his experiences of the police in Aberdeen during his time as a student there, as well as a desire for a role in a disciplined, hierarchical environment, and a view of the police as "a sort of secret, closed-off society", as part of his initial motivation for becoming a police officer. While at Sussex Police he was part of operations responding to the

Brighton hotel bombing A Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) assassination attempt against members of the British government took place on 12 October 1984 at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. A long-delay time bomb was plante ...

of 1984 and the

miners' strike Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions. See also * List of strikes References {{Reflist Miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are tw ...

of 1984–85. He later described himself as not "particularly good" and "a bit too judgmental" as an officer on the beat, and said he lacked maturity and empathy in his early career. He transferred in 1988 to

, where he was promoted to

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

, then progressed to

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 ...

before moving in 1994 to

where he worked as a

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 ...

. He became Assistant Chief Constable of

in 1998.

Metropolitan Police Service (2001–2007)

House joined the

in December 2001, as a Deputy Assistant Commissioner working in Policy Reviews and Standards. In early 2003, he moved to Territorial Policing, where he was appointed Assistant Commissioner of the

Central Operations Central Operations (abbreviated CO) was a major directorate of the London Metropolitan Police Service that provides operational support to the rest of the service. It was commanded by Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, formerly Chief Constable o ...

Branch. In 2006, as Commander of the

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 ...

, he had responsibility for areas including child abuse, economic crime, the

Flying Squad The Flying Squad is a branch of the Serious and Organised Crime Command within London's Metropolitan Police Service. It is also known as the Robbery Squad, Specialist Crime Directorate 7, SC&O7 and SO7. It is nicknamed The Sweeney, an abbrevia ...

forensics Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and crimina ...

, gun crime, homicide, undercover policing and the disruption of criminal networks.

Strathclyde Police (2007–2012)

House was appointed as Chief constable of

Strathclyde Police Strathclyde Police was the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshir ...

in 2007 and joined the force formally in November that year, succeeding

Willie Rae Sir William Rae, , is the former Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police, the largest police force in Scotland. Sir William is married and has two grown up sons. In recognition of his achievements Rae was awarded a knighthood by the Queen, in 2005. ...

, the retiring Chief Constable. In 2011, while in post at Strathclyde, and after being contacted by Home Office officials, House applied to become the

Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service. Sir Mark Rowley was appointed to the post on 8 July 2022 after Dame Cressida Dick announced her resignation in February. The rank of Commissione ...

following the resignation of Paul Stephenson.

Bernard Hogan-Howe Bernard Hogan-Howe, Baron Hogan-Howe, (born 25 October 1957) is an English former police officer and was the head of London's Metropolitan Police as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 2011 until 2017. Born in Sheffield, Hogan-Howe ...

was eventually appointed to the post. House acknowledged that he was disappointed at being unsuccessful in his application. He was quoted as saying "You don't put yourself forward for a job like that lightly, and unfortunately you do it in the full glare of publicity, so it was a pretty difficult situation".

Police Scotland (2012–2015)

House was appointed Chief Constable of

in September 2012 and took up the position when the new force, which replaced Scotland's eight regional forces, was formally established in April 2013. He had previously called for the creation of such a national force. Justice Secretary

Kenny MacAskill Kenneth Wright MacAskill (born 28 April 1958) is a Scottish politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Lothian since 2019. He previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Justice from 2007 to 2014 and was a Member of the Scottish ...

said House would be "outstanding" in the position and said he had an "impressive track record of leadership, partnership working and delivery". In an interview conducted soon after he was sworn in, he argued it was necessary for police officers "to have a strong sense of morality" and said responding to

domestic abuse Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner v ...

and organised crime would be priorities. In November 2013, House took up the role of Patron of the national police charity the

Police Roll of Honour Trust The Police Roll of Honour Trust is a charitable organisation registered in England & Wales and Scotland, it was founded in 2000 and records all those British police officers who have died on and in the line of duty. It has been granted a Royal Cha ...

, alongside

and

Hugh Orde Sir Hugh Stephen Roden Orde, (born 27 August 1958) is a retired British police officer who was the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, representing the 44 police forces of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Between 2002 a ...

. In 2014 House authorised the deployment of

armed police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

in Scotland. He cited the 1996

Dunblane massacre The Dunblane massacre took place at Dunblane Primary School in Dunblane, near Stirling, Scotland, on 13 March 1996, when Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 pupils and one teacher, and injured 15 others, before killing himself. It remains the deadliest ...

as a reason for the policy. His tenure also saw an investigation into Police Scotland officers over the

death of Sheku Bayoh Sheku Ahmed Tejan Bayoh (30 September 1983 – 3 May 2015) died after being restrained by police in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. His death sparked controversy, and an independent government inquiry following a police investigation. Life Bayoh was born ...

after being restrained in May 2015. House said in 2013 that he would not seek another police position after the end of his Police Scotland contract in 2016. In August 2015 House announced he would stand down from the post in three months. His resignation followed a series of controversies and failures, including his force's failure to rescue a woman who died after being left in a crashed vehicle for three days, his decision to place armed officers on routine street patrols, and his decision to stop and search tens of thousands of people who were not suspected of a crime. He had previously resisted calls to resign and received the backing of

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of '' ...

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. She has been a member of ...

. His last day in the job was 30 November 2015. His replacement was Phil Gormley.

Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (2018–2022)

In February 2018 House was re-appointed as an Assistant Commissioner. On 5 October 2018, he was announced by the Government as the new Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, a post he took up in December 2018 following the retirement of

Craig Mackey Sir Craig Thomas Mackey, (born 26 August 1962) is a former British police officer who served as Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, Deputy Commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police Service from 2012 until his retirement in 201 ...

. In July 2020, in an appearance before the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...

's police and crime committee, House defended the police officers who stopped, searched and handcuffed the athlete

Bianca Williams Bianca Williams (born 18 December 1993) is a British athlete. She competed for England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where she won bronze medals in the 200 m, and in the 4 × 100 m relay. She has also won two medals as part of th ...

earlier that month and the officers who fired a stun gun at an elderly man in his own home the previous month. House said the officers involved had been treated unfairly and that widely-shared videos of each event failed to present a "full picture". While House claimed that the

Independent Office for Police Conduct The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is a non-departmental public body in England and Wales which, since 8 January 2018, is responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wale ...

(IOPC) had exonerated the officers in the latter case, the IOPC said it had not considered the case. In a September 2020 appearance before the committee, House criticised

Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk o ...

protesters for "going floppy" when arrested, a tactic he described as a "flipping nuisance" and called to be outlawed. In February 2021, House said the Metropolitan Police would continue to disproportionately stop and search black people and that the public ought not to be concerned about this behaviour. House said stop and search was concentrated in areas believed to suffer from "real problems with violence" and that ceasing to disproportionately target black people would require police officers to stop and search elderly people. In March 2021, after submitting written evidence to an

Investigatory Powers Tribunal In the United Kingdom, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) is a judicial body, independent of the British government, which hears complaints about surveillance by public bodies—in fact, "the only Tribunal to whom complaints about the Intel ...

complaint relating to the activities of the undercover police officer Mark Kennedy, House said he was too busy to be

cross-examined In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Africa, India and Pakistan known as examination-in-chief) and m ...

on his evidence. In the same month, after Metropolitan Police officers broke up a vigil following the

murder of Sarah Everard On the evening of 3 March 2021, 33-year-old Sarah Everard was kidnapped in South London, England, as she was walking home to the Brixton Hill area from a friend's house near Clapham Common. She was stopped by off-duty Metropolitan Police offic ...

and the arrest of a Metropolitan Police officer for her murder, House declined to apologise and described the vigil prior to the police intervention as a "very, very hostile situation". In June 2021, House joined with Metropolitan Police Commissioner

in rejecting the conclusions of an independent inquiry into the 1987

murder of Daniel Morgan Daniel John Morgan (3 November 1949 – 10 March 1987) was a British private investigator who was murdered with an axe in a pub car park in Sydenham, London, in 1987. Despite several Metropolitan Police investigations, arrests, and trial, the cr ...

, which found the force to have been institutionally corrupt in concealing or denying failings in its investigations. In July 2021, House expressed scepticism over the proposal, supported by the government and pledged in

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

Sadiq Khan Sadiq Aman Khan (; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Khan is on the party's sof ...

's manifesto, that the Metropolitan Police record gender-based

hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

s. Following Dick's resignation in February 2022, House criticised Khan for his role in Dick's departure, arguing that

due process Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...

had not been followed and calling for

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

Priti Patel Priti Sushil Patel (born 29 March 1972) is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, she was Secretary of State for International Development from 2016 to 2017. Patel has been the Me ...

to review Khan's treatment of Dick. Patel later ordered a review, to be led by

Tom Winsor Sir Thomas Philip Winsor (born 7 December 1957) is a British arbitrator and mediator, lawyer, consultant and economic regulatory professional. Between 1 October 2012 and 31 March 2022, he served as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabular ...

, to examine whether the Mayor of London's role in hiring and dismissing the Metropolitan Police Commissioner should be reduced. House was identified by

LBC LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadcast ...

and

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...

as a potential successor to Dick. The

Liberal Democrat Several political party, political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democracy, liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties ...

Alistair Carmichael Alexander Morrison "Alistair" CarmichaelFull name is given as "CARMICHAEL, Alexander Morrison, commonly known as Alistair Carmichael" in the returning officer'2010 general election declaration (born 15 July 1965) is a Scottish politician and s ...

called for House to be ruled out as a replacement for Dick on the basis of his record with Police Scotland. House did not ultimately apply for the position. In March 2022, a group of prominent black people wrote to House to call for immediate action to be taken against Metropolitan Police officers who

strip-search A strip search is a practice of searching a person for weapons or other contraband suspected of being hidden on their body or inside their clothing, and not found by performing a frisk search, but by requiring the person to remove some or al ...

ed a child at her school. In April 2022, Patel announced House would serve as Acting Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police pending the appointment of a successor to Cressida Dick. Announcing his appointment, Patel said House would "provide the stability and continuity the force needs". Following Patel's announcement, Liberal Democrat MP

Wendy Chamberlain Wendy Anne Chamberlain (born 20 December 1976) is a Scottish politician serving as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats since 2021. She was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Fife at the 2019 General Election. As of ...

wrote to Patel arguing that House was unsuitable for the position due to his record with Police Scotland, while Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member

Caroline Pidgeon Caroline Valerie Pidgeon (born 29 September 1972) is a British politician serving as the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the London Assembly since 2018, and a Londonwide Member of the London Assembly (AM) since 2008. Early life and educat ...

wrote to Khan to seek assurances regarding House's stop and search policy at Police Scotland.

Acting Metropolitan Police Commissioner (2022)

House became

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

on the resignation of

on 10 April 2022. In his first appearance before the

Home Affairs Select Committee The Home Affairs Select Committee is a Departmental Committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Remit The Home Affairs Committee is one of the House of Commons Select committees related to government departments: its ...

on 20 April, House said "unacceptable behaviour" in the Metropolitan Police, particularly in its

Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection (PaDP) is a branch of Protection Command within the Specialist Operations directorate of London's Metropolitan Police Service. Duties A unit of the Metropolitan Police Service, PaDP is responsible for pro ...

unit, was not attributable to "a few

bad apples The bad apples metaphor originated as a warning of the corrupting influence of one corrupt or sinful person on a group: that "one bad apple can spoil the barrel". Over time the concept has been used to describe the opposite situation, where "a ...

", and called for a change to protocol that would allow officers suspected of misconduct to be dismissed more quickly. In April 2022, after five officers were referred to disciplinary hearings for gross misconduct for stopping and searching the athlete

in July 2020, the

said the Metropolitan Police should consider apologising for House's earlier defence of the officers. The force issued a statement declaring that House would stand by his own earlier statement, in which he described the officers' behaviour as lawful and justified. In May 2022,

Nazir Afzal Nazir Afzal (born October 1962, Birmingham) is a British solicitor and former prosecutor within the Crown Prosecution Service. Afzal spent most of his career in the Crown Prosecution Service, rising to be Chief Crown Prosecutor for North West ...

, the former chief prosecutor for north-west England, criticised House's handling of the

Partygate Partygate was a political scandal in the United Kingdom about parties and other gatherings of government and Conservative Party staff held during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when public health restrictions prohibited most gather ...

scandal relating to breaches of COVID-19 restrictions by government figures, describing the approach as lacking transparency. Also in May,

wrote to House to demand he explain why

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

did not receive a

fixed penalty notice In the United Kingdom, a fixed penalty notice (FPN) is a notice giving an individual the opportunity to be made immune from prosecution for an alleged criminal offence in exchange for a fee. Fixed penalty notices were introduced in Britain in the ...

(FPN) for attending a party in November 2020, in relation to which other attendees were fined, and said that public trust in the Metropolitan Police had been eroded by a "lack of clarity" in its decision-making in Operation Hillman. Appearing before the

's police and crime committee later in May, House said that while Johnson had attended events for which others were fined, there had been insufficient evidence to issue more than one FPN to him. Later in May 2022, chiefs of nine police forces near London wrote to House to protest the Metropolitan Police's policy of offering "

golden hello In accounting and contractual law, "golden hello" is a term used for several different arrangements: # A payment made to induce an employee to take up employment from a specific employer in form of a welcome package or a payment from a rival empl ...

s" to officers recruited from other forces, which they argued would have a "hugely disproportionate and negative effect" on their own forces and were likely to be unlawful.

Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner The Hampshire & Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner, previously Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner, is the police and crime commissioner, an elected official tasked with setting out the way crime is tackled by Hampshire and Isle of W ...

Donna Jones said the policy was "masking ... the fact that people don't want to work for the Met police because of the culture issues and the failings that they have had". In June 2022, after the Metropolitan Police was placed in

special measures Special measures is a status applied by regulators of public services in Britain to providers who fall short of acceptable standards. In education (England and Wales) Ofsted, the schools inspection agency for England and some British Overseas Ter ...

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services 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 ...

, Inspector of Constabulary

Matt Parr Rear Admiral Matthew John Parr, (born 20 August 1962) is a retired Royal Navy officer who has served as Commander Operations and Rear Admiral, Submarines and is currently an Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services. Early life and ...

wrote to House to outline "substantial and persistent concerns" regarding the force's performance, including its "inexperienced" workforce, its backlog of

online child abuse Online child abuse is a unique form of child abuse also known as “Cyber Molestation” due to its virtual, distanced, and anonymous nature. Such abuse may not happen face-to-face, nor does it necessarily require physical contact. However, onlin ...

cases, the stop-and-search of Bianca Williams, the strip-searching of children, the murder of Sarah Everard, and the force's approach to internal corruption. In July 2022,

Mark Rowley Sir Mark Peter Rowley (born November 1964) is a British senior police officer who has been the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis since September 2022. He was the Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis for Specialist Operati ...

was announced as Dick's successor as permanent Commissioner. When Rowley assumed the role on 12 September 2022, House left the Metropolitan Police in order to lead a review of operational productivity in policing, which will be overseen by the

Personal life

House has been married since 1987, and has three children, a boy and two girls. He has few interests outside of his family and his job, although he enjoys hill walking and science fiction. He was known to turn up unannounced at police stations on a motorcycle when he was Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police. House is not religious.

Honours

House 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 of Nations, Commonwealth countries, most of whic ...

in 2005 for distinguished service. 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

2013 Birthday Honours The 2013 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...

for services to law and order.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:House, Steve British Chief Constables Knights Bachelor Scottish recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Metropolitan Police recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Living people 1957 births Police officers from Glasgow People educated at Kelvinside Academy Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Assistant Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis Deputy Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis