George Hamilton (police officer)

Sir George Ernest Craythorne Hamilton QPM (born 27 June 1967) is a Northern Ireland retired police officer. From 2014 to 2019, he served as the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. He was previously the Assistant Chief Constable with responsibility for rural policing.[1]

Sir George Hamilton QPM
Hamilton in 2018
Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland
In office 30 June 2014 – 30 June 2019
Deputy	Drew Harris
Preceded by	Matt Baggott
Succeeded by	Simon Byrne
Personal details
Born	George Ernest Craythorne Hamilton 27 June 1967 Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland
Nationality	British
Profession	Police officer
Salary	£240,000

Early life and education

Hamilton was born on 27 June 1967 in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland.[2] He was educated at Gransha High for Boys, an all-boys state secondary school in Bangor, County Down.[2] He studied politics and economics at the Open University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.[2][3] He also studied at the University of Ulster where he completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.[2][4]

Career

Hamilton began his policing career in 1985, when he joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary.[5] In 1994, he was promoted to inspector and seconded to a police force in England.[6]

In 2009, he joined Strathclyde Police as Assistant Chief Constable,[7] returning to the PSNI in 2011 as Assistant Chief Constable Criminal Justice.[5]

Chief Constable

Hamilton was selected to succeed Matt Baggott as the Chief Constable of the PSNI in May 2014,[8][9] and took up his post in June of the same year.[10] He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in the 2015 Birthday Honours.

In October 2017 Hamilton, along with Deputy Chief Constable Drew Harris and Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, were placed under investigation by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. The inquiry focuses on "concerns about how the Police Service of Northern Ireland conducted an investigation into allegations of bribery and fraud in 2014".[11]

In January 2019, Hamilton announced that he would retire in June 2019. He had been offered a three-year contract extension but he rejected it.[12] On 8 June 2019, as part of the Queen's 2019 Birthday Honours for the United Kingdom, Hamilton was made a Knight Bachelor "for services to Policing and to the community in Northern Ireland."[13]

Hamilton was knighted in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to policing and the community in Northern Ireland.[14]

Honours

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Knight Bachelor (Kt)	2019 Queen's Birthday Honours List
	Queen's Police Medal (QPM)	2015
	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal	2002 UK Version of this Medal
	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	2012 UK Version of this Medal
	Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
	Royal Ulster Constabulary Service Medal

References

1. "Chief Constable George Hamilton – PSNI". Archived from the original on 6 September 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
2. "HAMILTON, George". Who's Who 2016. Oxford University Press. November 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
3. "George Hamilton named as new PSNI Chief Constable". Irish Independent. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
4. "Chief Constable George Hamilton". PSNI. 29 May 2014. Archived from the original on 6 September 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
5. "George Hamilton is new PSNI chief constable". BBC News. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
6. "George Hamilton: New PSNI chief constable marks first day in job". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
7. Kearney, Vincent (29 May 2014). "Police Service of Northern Ireland: Interviews for PSNI Chief Constable job". Retrieved 29 June 2014.
8. McDonald, Henry (29 May 2014). "George Hamilton to be chief constable of Police Service of Northern Ireland". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
9. Kilpatrick, Chris (3 June 2014). "PSNI's new Chief Constable George Hamilton to take up post at Northern Ireland marching season's peak". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
10. "Appointment date set for new Chief". Police Oracle. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
11. Kearney, Vincent (19 October 2017). "Chief Constable Hamilton investigated by ombudsman". BBC News. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
12. "NI's top police officer to retire". BBC News. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
13. "[Untitled]" (62, 666). The Stationery Office. London Gazette. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
14. "No. 62666". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2019. p. B2.