MPA appoints new Assistant Commissioner to the Met

05/03
16 January 2003

The Metropolitan Police Authority today appointed Tim Godwin as one of the Metropolitan Police Service’s four Assistant Commissioners.

As member of the MPS management board responsible for territorial policing, Tim Godwin will help formulate the strategic direction of the largest police service in the country, with management responsibility for an annual budget of £900 million and 23,000 staff (officers and civil).

The interviews were conducted by a panel of six MPA members, with Sir John Stevens, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, acting as police adviser. Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, and Catherine Crawford, Clerk to the MPA, were also in attendance.

Commenting on the appointment, Toby Harris said:

“On behalf of the Metropolitan Police Authority I wish to congratulate Tim Godwin on appointment to his new post. Tim, who has held the position of Acting Assistant Commissioner for the past few months, impressed the panel with his strategic knowledge, tactical skills and experience and we are confident that he will continue to make a significant impact in the role.

“The challenge of policing London, one of the world’s major capitals, with its many complexities and wonderfully diverse and vibrant communities, exacts the highest degree of professionalism and expertise from every serving officer. This is even more true at the strategic command level and we have no doubt that Tim will lead by example.

Sir John Stevens said:

“The position of Assistant Commissioner responsible for Territorial Policing in the MPS is immensely important, particularly in the delivery of front line policing across London. It demands top level strategic skills developed from substantial and wide ranging knowledge and I'm delighted that an officer of Tim Godwin's calibre has been appointed to what must be one of the most demanding policing roles in the country.”

Tim Godwin - biography

Tim Godwin joined the Met from Sussex Police in November 1999 as Commander Crime with responsibility for major crime investigations in South London. Following this he served as the South East Territorial Police Commander and most recently as Commander Crime for Territorial Policing, responsible for developing Crime Strategies and Initiatives for Pan London Crime Operations. He has been Acting Assistant Commissioner since the previous post holder took up a position in another constabulary last Autumn.

Tim’s policing career started in the Sussex Police in September 1981. By 1992 he had attained the rank of superintendent. As a superintendent he was appointed Head of Personnel and then Divisional Commander for a large Operational Command Unit which included Crawley New Town. In 1996 he was appointed as the Force Crime Manager for Sussex, responsible for Force Level Intelligence, Crime and Drug Operations, Scientific Support and major crime investigations. He left in 1999 to attend the Strategic Command Course at Bramshill. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Commissioner by the MPA in April 2001.

Between 1989 and 1993, he attended the University of Portsmouth on a part time basis where he obtained a BA Honours Degree in Public Sector Police Studies. Following his attendance on the Strategic Command Course he obtained a post-graduate diploma in Applied Criminology, as a part time student, from Cambridge University.

Tim was given a Royal Humane Society Testimonial in 1991 for rescuing a man from a high bridge over a railway line. In 1996, he was awarded the runner up prize for Equal Opportunities Achievement in the Police Service by the Home Secretary, and in 1998, he was awarded the National Prize for Public Management Leadership by the Office for Public Management.

His most recent honour was the award by Her Majesty the Queen of an OBE, for his work as the tactical spearhead for Operation Safer Streets, in the latest New Year’s Honours List.

Further media information

1. The appointment to Assistant Commissioner is for a fixed term period (to be negotiated) at an annual starting salary of £125,622 plus benefits.

2. The post became vacant when the last incumbent, Michael Todd, became Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police.

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