Dame Lynne Gillian Owens, (born 29 January 1969) is a senior

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

officer in the United Kingdom. She served as

Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...

of the

National Crime Agency The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime that goes across regional and in ...

from 2016 to 2021, making her one of the most senior law enforcement chiefs in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

at the time, and is currently serving a six-month term as interim Deputy Commissioner of the

Metropolitan Police Service 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 ...

. She was Assistant Commissioner of Central Operations, then Central Operations and Specialist Crime, with the Metropolitan Police Service from 2010 to 2012, and the Chief Constable of

Surrey Police Surrey Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Surrey in South East England. The force is currently led by Chief Constable Gavin Stephens. Previously the force was led by Nick Ephgrave who left the force ...

from 2012 to 2015.

Early life and education

Owens was born on 29 January 1969.'OWENS, Lynne Gillian', ''

Who's Who 2017 ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'', A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 201
accessed 4 Nov 2017
/ref> Her father, Edward Crew, was 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, ...

from 1996 to 2002. She studied at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

, 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. Tho ...

(MA) degree in 2008.

Career

Rise

Owens began her policing career when she joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1989. 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 ...

, she was based in

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green and Catford South wards. The population of Catford, includ ...

, London. On promotion 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 ...

, she transferred to

Kent Police Kent Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the and approximately 1.8 million inhabitants of Kent, a county in the south east of England. History On 14 January 1857, a 222-strong 'Kent County Constabulary' was formed u ...

and began training to become a detective. In the rank of

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 ...

, she became a senior investigating officer with the force's major crime department. In 2002, Owens transferred to

. She was appointed Divisional Commander of North Surrey in May 2003. In January 2005, she was promoted to temporary assistant chief constable responsible for specialist operations. This was her first experience of a chief officer rank. She qualified as a Gold firearms Commander during that appointment. Having completed the Strategic Command Course run by the

National Policing Improvement Agency The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, established to support police by providing expertise in such areas as information technology, information sharing, and recruitment. It was ...

, she was made assistant chief constable responsible for territorial operations. She became the youngest person to hold the rank of deputy chief constable when she was appointed to the rank temporarily in March 2008. During that appointment, she headed an organisational change programme.

DAC, AC and Chief Constable

In April 2009, Owens returned to the Metropolitan Police as a Deputy Assistant Commissioner. In that role she was responsible for operations within territorial policing. She was promoted to Assistant Commissioner in December 2010, becoming only the second woman to hold that rank in the force. In August 2011, she additionally became responsible for 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 ...

and became head of the Specialist Crime and Operations Directorate. She was overall commander of the policing for the

wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on Friday, 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, England. The groom was second in the line of succession to the British throne. The couple had been in a relationship si ...

that took place in April 2011, and the state visit by US president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

in May 2011. She was also part of the Metropolitan Police's senior leadership team during the 2011 England riots, where they were heavily criticised. In December 2011, Owens was selected to become the next Chief Constable of Surrey Police. She took up the appointment in February 2012, becoming the first woman to head the force. In December 2012, her contract was extended until November 2017 by Kevin Hurley, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey Police. However, in a meeting in September 2015, Hurley revealed he had been considering her dismissal for a "failure of leadership" in relation to concerns about her record on child protection.

NCA and Deputy Commissioner

On 26 November 2015 it was announced that Owens would be the next head of the

. She replaced outgoing Director-General and former Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police,

Keith Bristow Keith Bristow QPM served as the first Director-General of the National Crime Agency from 2011 to 2016. He was formerly the Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police, and was appointed in October 2011 to oversee the creation of the NCA and, follow ...

QPM, in January 2016. Upon taking up the appointment, she became the then most senior woman in British law enforcement. In September 2021, Owens announced that she would be retiring as Director General of the National Crime Agency on medical grounds. She was succeeded by Graeme Biggar on an interim basis. She did not apply to succeed

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 M ...

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 ...

of the Metropolitan Police, but in August 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 ...

announced Owens would return to the Metropolitan Police on 12 September that year, holding a six-month post as Interim Deputy Commissioner whilst a permanent holder of that post was recruited at the start of Rowley's own commissionership.

Honours

Owens 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 2008 New Year Honours for distinguished service. She 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

2015 Birthday Honours The 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours are 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 p ...

for services to policing and criminal justice. She was appointed

Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(DCB) in the 2021 New Year Honours for service to law enforcement.

Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

Police Long Service and Good Conduct ribbon

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Lynne British Chief Constables Assistant Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Living people Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Dames Commander of the Order of the Bath Directors-General of the National Crime Agency 1969 births Alumni of the University of Exeter