Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick serves as the most senior female officer within the Metropolitan Police, a rank equivalent to that of Chief Constable outside London. During the Olympic and Paralympic games, she was national director for counter terrorism, an extension of her role leading on the long-term threat of terrorism across the UK. A trained hostage negotiator, she has extensive experience in public order, firearms and security. In 2005, she was the officer in charge of the operation which led to the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes. A jury cleared her of blame at the end of the prosecution of the Metropolitan Police under health and safety laws. Three years ago she was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal.