HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary - Sir Ronnie Flanagan, GBE, MA

Sir Ronnie (born 1949) joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 1970 and served as a Constable and Sergeant in Belfast, spending time in uniformed and CID disciplines. On the promotion to the rank of Inspector in 1976, he was transferred to Londonderry and later Strabane where he experienced Border Policing; he also served in the Personnel Department. In 1982 he was appointed Detective Inspector in Special Branch and the following year, on promotion to Chief Inspector, was responsible for the selection, training and operational control of specialist uniformed anti-terrorist units. He was transferred to Armagh in 1987, on promotion to Detective Superintendent.

Following his promotion to Chief Superintendent in 1990 he was appointed to the Police Staff College at Bramshill as Director of the Intermediate Command Course and subsequently of the Senior Command Course, which is designed to prepare selected officers for Chief Officer rank.

Returning to Northern Ireland in 1992 on appointment as Assistant Chief Constable, he headed Operations Department; in April 1993 he was appointed as Operational Commander for the Belfast region; and in August 1994 was appointed Head of Special Branch. In March 1995 he was appointed Acting Deputy Chief Constable, Support Services and formally appointed Deputy Chief Constable in February 1996, taking over Operations in April of that year. During 1996 he conducted a fundamental review of the structure and organisation of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

Sir Ronnie has travelled extensively in Europe and the United States to study policing methods. He has attended all the major courses, including the Senior Command Course at the Police Staff College at Bramshill. Holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in addition to a Master of Arts degree in Administrative and Legal Studies, he is also a graduate of the FBI Academy.

Sir Ronnie was awarded the OBE in Her Majesty’s 1996 New Year Honours List; on 4 November of the same year he took up office as Chief Constable.

Sir Ronnie received a Knighthood in the New Year Honours List, December 1998.

On 31 March 2002, Sir Ronnie retired from the PSNI and on 1 April 2002 was appointed Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary for London and the East Region. He had responsibility for inspecting Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, City of London, Essex, Dorset, Hertfordshire, Metropolitan, Norfolk and Suffolk police forces; he also had responsibility for inspecting NCS and NCIS as well as the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency, UK Atomic Energy Authority Police, Guernsey, Jersey, the Sovereign Base in Cyprus and the Isle of Man. His portfolio responsibilities included Serious and Organised Crime, Military Liaison, Prison Liaison, Public Order, Terrorism, Ports and Special Branch and Officer Safety.

Sir Ronnie was awarded a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, 2002.

A married man, he has three sons. His interests are reading – with a particular love of Yeats’ poetry, music of all sorts, and sport – particularly rugby, which he played and coached at senior level.