Cressida Dick will be the next Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced today (Wednesday, 22 February).
Currently a Director General at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ms Dick was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen following a recommendation from the Home Secretary. In making her recommendation to the Queen, the Home Secretary considered the views of the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
She will lead the biggest police force in the United Kingdom, with more than 43,000 officers and staff and a budget of over £3bn. Working with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and partners across the criminal justice system, she will be responsible for overseeing the Metropolitan Police’s crucial work preventing crime, bringing offenders to justice and continuing to ensure an effective national response to the ongoing threat of terrorism. She will lead the Metropolitan Police through a time of significant change, and have a duty to uphold public confidence in the force.
Four candidates were invited to attend final interviews with the Home Secretary, Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, and the Mayor of London this week.
Cressida Dick joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1983. She was a Superintendent at Thames Valley Police before rejoining the Metropolitan Police as a Commander in 2001. She was appointed as the Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Security and Protection in 2007, before becoming the Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Crime in 2009. She was responsible for tackling all non-terrorist serious crime in London as well as leading a modernisation programme.
In 2011 she was made the Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations responsible for countering terrorism and extremism. She led the national security operations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Olympic Games. During her time in the Metropolitan Police she also led the reinvestigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the police response to the murder of Lee Rigby.
She briefly acted as the Deputy Commissioner before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as a Director General in 2015. She was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for services to policing in 2010 and a CBE in 2015. She has lived in London for 30 years.
