Philip Douglas Knights, Baron Knights (3 October 1920 – 11 December 2014) was an English police officer who served as Chief Constable of

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of ...

, succeeding West Midlands Police's first Chief Constable, Sir

Derrick Capper Sir William Derrick Capper (3 January 1912 – 21 March 1977) was an English police officer and the first Chief Constable of West Midlands Police. Early life and education Derrick Capper (as he preferred to continue being known after knighth ...

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Career

Knights joined

Lincolnshire Police Lincolnshire Police is the territorial police force covering the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire in the East Midlands of England. Despite the name, the force's area does not include North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire, which ...

as a

Cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

in 1938, becoming a Constable in 1940 and completed training at the (now defunct) Police Staff College in

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

, Lincolnshire. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

between 1943 until 1945. Knights returned to Lincolnshire Police, reaching the rank of

Chief Superintendent Chief superintendent is a senior rank in police forces, especially in those organised on the United Kingdom, British model. Rank insignia of chief superintendent File:Sa-police-chief-superintendent.png, South Australia Police File:RCMP Chief S ...

in 1957. He moved to the

Birmingham City Police Birmingham City Police was the police service responsible for general policing in the city of Birmingham from 1839 to 1974. The force was established by a special Act of Parliament in 1839, and was amalgamated as of 1 April 1974 with the West M ...

in 1959 as an

Assistant Chief Constable Assistant chief constable (ACC) is the third highest rank in all British territorial police forces (except the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police, in which the equivalent rank is commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as C ...

and rose to the rank of Deputy Chief Constable in 1970. In 1972 he moved to

Sheffield and Rotherham Constabulary Sheffield and Rotherham Constabulary was a short-lived police force in England from 1 June 1967 to 31 March 1974. It was created as a merger of the Sheffield City Police and Rotherham Borough Police, and covered the adjacent county boroughs of ...

as Chief Constable. In 1974, Sheffield and Rotherham Constabulary amalgamated with parts of

West Yorkshire Constabulary The West Yorkshire Constabulary (WYC) was, from 1968 to 1974, the statutory police force for the West Riding of Yorkshire, in northern England. It was formed under the Police Act 1964, and was a merger of the previous West Riding Constabulary a ...

to become

South Yorkshire Police South Yorkshire Police (SYP) is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England. The force is led by Chief Constable Lauren Poultney. Oversight is conducted by Mayor Oliver Coppard. History The force was fo ...

. Knights returned to

where he was appointed Chief Constable. He was described as a 'true architect' of the new force, bringing together six separate forces into one.

Controversy

In 1983 the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucl ...

activist Madeline Haigh criticised Knights for not disciplining West Midlands

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...

who investigated her after she wrote to a local newspaper complaining about the cancellation of a peace march. Knights defended the case by saying it "fell within the terms of reference of the Special Branch."

Honours and awards

Knights 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 ...

in 1964 and then appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in 1971. Knights was promoted to a Commander (CBE) in 1976 and

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1980. He was Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands in 1985 and was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

on 22 July 1987 as Baron Knights, of

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...

in the County of West Midlands. He sat as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...

in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

until his death in 2014.

Personal life

Knights was vice-president of the

Warwickshire County Cricket Club Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of ...

, the Birmingham County Scout Council and the Birmingham Federation of Clubs for Young People, and patron of the Police History Society. He had a considerable interest in classical music and was the patron of the British Police Symphony Orchestra from 1997 until his death. The orchestra had been formed in 1989 by Police Constable Alexander Roe of West Midlands Police. His spouse was Jean Knights.

References

External links

Parliamentary biography

via ''

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...

'' 1920 births 2014 deaths Crossbench life peers People from Grantham Knights Bachelor English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy lieutenants of the West Midlands (county) Warwickshire County Cricket Club Chief Constables of West Midlands Police Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Birmingham City Police Life peers created by Elizabeth II {{UK-law-enforcement-bio-stub