Mike Barton, Chief Constable, Durham Constabulary

Michael is a proud Lancastrian and adopted North Easterner who served in Lancashire Constabulary for 28 years before joining Durham Constabulary in 2008 as Assistant Chief Constable. He has been Chief Constable since 2012.

Michael has led new ways of tackling organised criminals with local beat officers and PCSOs through challenging traditional ways of policing and encouraging paradigm shifts. Durham is now recognised as a leading force in tackling serious and organised crime as well as managing offenders. A glance at the most recent HMIC PEEL inspection will show a police force at the top of its game with an enviable slew of outstanding grades. He attributes this to inspired and positive staff that have their feet on the ground and a burning desire to look after victims of crime and anti-social behaviour. The most often repeated phrase of visitors to Durham Constabulary is ‘it feels different here!’

He has long been a keen exponent of problem-orientated policing and integrated offender management, including restorative justice, and has successfully embedded these concepts in Lancashire and Durham.

Michael is the National Policing Lead for Crime and intends to use this position to ensure British Policing is in the vanguard of tackling crime on the internet.

He has attracted a degree of media attention through his advocacy for a ‘grown up’ debate on drugs – challenging the efficacy of outright prohibition.

Michael at his worst has been described as a maverick and at his best as a maverick. He has enjoyed a few scrapes and still pinches himself every morning that someone asked him to be a Chief Constable.