Simon Byrne (born 29 April 1963) is a senior British police officer. He has served as Chief Constable of the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ') is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reform ...

(PSNI) since July 2019. He was the Deputy Chief Constable of

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 ...

from 2009 to 2011 and the Assistant Commissioner for Territorial Policing in the Metropolitan Police Service from 2011 to 2014. He then served as Chief Constable of

Cheshire Constabulary Cheshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the English unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Borough of Halton and Borough of Warrington. The force is responsible for policing an are ...

from 2014 to 2017.

Early life and education

Byrne was born on 29 April 1963 in

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

, Surrey, England. He was educated at

Neston High School Neston High School is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school and sixth form with Academy (English school), academy status located in Neston on the Wirral Peninsula, in the English county of Cheshire. Previously a Community schoo ...

, then a comprehensive school in

Neston Neston is a town and civil parish on the Wirral Peninsula, in Cheshire, England. It is part of the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester. The village of Parkgate is located to the north west and the villages of Little Neston and Nes ...

, Cheshire. He later studied police management at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

, graduating with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(MA) degree.

Police career

Byrne began his career in the police when he joined the Metropolitan Police Service as a constable in 1982. He transferred to Merseyside Police in 1985. He served as the commander of the

Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley is a metropolitan borough in Merseyside, North West England. It covers several towns and villages, including Kirkby, Prescot, Huyton, Whiston, Halewood, Cronton and Stockbridge Village; Kirkby, Huyton, ...

between 2002 and 2004. In 2006, he was promoted to Assistant Chief Constable. This is a chief officer rank therefore he joined the

Association of Chief Police Officers The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) was a not-for-profit private limited company that for many years led the development of policing practices in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Established ...

. Within Merseyside Police he served as ACC Operations and ACC Personnel. In February 2009, he transferred to

, becoming Deputy Chief Constable. In 2011, he returned to the Metropolitan Police Service as the Assistant Commissioner for Territorial Policing. On 24 February 2014, he was selected as the next Chief Constable of

. He took up the appointment on 25 June. 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 ...

(QPM) in the

2016 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2016 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

. On 23 August 2017, he was suspended after an investigation found he had a case to answer for gross misconduct. His fixed-term contract expired in 2018. He was cleared of misconduct on 11 December 2018.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

On 24 May 2019, Byrne was announced as the next Chief Constable of the

(PSNI). He took up the appointment on 1 July 2019. He is paid £207,489 per year.

Honours

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal

Police Long Service and Good Conduct ribbon

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Simon Living people category:Chief Constables of Cheshire Constabulary Chief Constables of the Police Service of Northern Ireland Assistant Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis 1963 births English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Police Service of Northern Ireland officers