William Taylor

CBE 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 o ...

QPM (born 25 March 1947) is a retired British police officer. Taylor was educated at

Blairgowrie High School Blairgowrie High School is a high school in Blairgowrie, Scotland. Blairgowrie High School has 719 students (as of September census) from Blairgowrie and the surrounding area. The current head teacher is Beverly Leslie. History The school was ...

, Perthshire, Scotland. In 1966 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 ...

in London as a

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

. He later joined the

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...

(CID) as a

Detective Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal Police, law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Ot ...

and served at police stations in Central London until 1976, when, as a

Detective 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 ...

, he was transferred to the Community Relations Branch at

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's ...

. In 1978, he was promoted to

Detective Superintendent Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...

and assigned to the Central Drugs Squad. In 1980 he was promoted to

Detective 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.png ...

and became staff officer to

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 ...

Sir David McNee. In 1982, he was promoted to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

, the youngest officer of chief officer rank in the Metropolitan Police, and was appointed Commander CID (North East London). The following year he was appointed Commander Hackney and

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

(back in uniform), and in January 1985 he became Commander

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 ...

, in which role he also headed No. 9

Regional Crime Squad The National Crime Squad (NCS) was a British police organisation which dealt with national and transnational organised and major crimes. Formed in April 1998 after the amalgamation of six former Regional Crime Squads, it merged with parts of H ...

. However, a few months later, in July 1985, Taylor was appointed Assistant Commissioner (deputy head) of the

City of London Police The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, including the Middle and Inner Temples. The force responsible for law enforcement within the remainder of the London region, ou ...

and in 1989 Deputy Chief Constable of

Thames Valley Police Thames Valley Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Thames Valley, covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. It the largest non-metropolitan police force in England and Wales, covering a ...

. In 1990, he returned to the Metropolitan Police as Assistant Commissioner Specialist Operations (ACSO). In 1994 he was appointed

Commissioner of Police of the City of London The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, including the Middle and Inner Temples. The force responsible for law enforcement within the remainder of the London region, o ...

. In 1996 he was one of three contenders for the post of Chief Constable of the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...

, but lost out to

Ronnie Flanagan Sir Ronald Flanagan (born 25 March 1949) is a retired senior Northern Irish police officer. He was the Home Office Chief Inspector of Constabulary for the United Kingdom excluding Scotland. Sir Ronnie was previously the Chief Constable of the ...

. In 1998, he was appointed one of

HM Inspectors of Constabulary 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 ...

and the following year was appointed

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) is a public body of the Scottish Government and reports to the Scottish Parliament. It has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the effectiveness and efficiency of the po ...

, a post he held until his retirement in 2001. In 2003 he headed the Metropolitan Police inquiry into the collapse of the theft case against former royal butlers

Paul Burrell Paul Burrell (born 6 June 1958) is a former servant of the British Royal Household and latterly butler to Princess Diana. Background and Royal Household career Burrell was born and raised in Grassmoor, Derbyshire, a coal-mining village. His ...

and Harold Brown in 2002. Taylor 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 ...

(QPM) in 1991 and 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 o ...

(CBE) in the

2001 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 2001 was announced on 16 June 2001 for the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland), New Zealand (4 June), Australia (11 June), Barbados, Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Sai ...

for services to the police.

Footnotes

References

*Biography, ''

Who's Who ''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biography, biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a gr ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, William 1947 births Living people People from Blairgowrie and Rattray People educated at Blairgowrie High School Scottish police officers Assistant Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis Commissioners of the City of London Police British police chief officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Scottish recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Metropolitan Police recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Chief Inspectors of Constabulary (Scotland)