About Paul

Paul Ford is a retired Metropolitan Police Superintendent and investigative academic researcher focused on police legitimacy, culture and accountability. Over a 25-year career in the Metropolitan Police and Hampshire Constabulary, he led in some of policing's most demanding areas, from counter-terrorism and royalty protection to custody, complaints and organisational reform.

His research asks a simple question with far-reaching consequences: how does the way officers are treated inside their organisations shape how they treat the public?

He has written national operational plan, led reviews after some of the most scrutinised incidents in modern British policing, and helped shape youth justice policy.

Policing career

• Senior officer in Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) and Royalty Protection (SO14), with command roles including Tower Hamlets and Met Detention

• Deputy Head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO)

• Author of Operation Plato and Operation Temperer

• Reviewing officer and implementation lead for recommendations following the fatal police shootings of Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell and Mark Saunders in Markham Square

• Led the Met Detention Staff Investment Programme, named Investors in People Employer of the Year 2019

• Superintendent lead for training and development, and former senior assessor at the College of Policing

Policy

• Senior Policy Adviser to the Youth Justice Board, working with Sir Charles Pollard QPM to introduce restorative justice as an out-of-court disposal

• Contributing adviser to the Every Child Matters green paper which informed the Children Act 2004

• Drafted national policy concerning police response and use of force in CT incidents

• International adviser on penal and police reform, recognised by the Kyrgyz Ministry of Internal Affairs

Research and academic

• MSt in Criminology and Police Management, University of Cambridge

• Former Vice Chair, The Open University's Centre for Policing Research and Learning

• Counter-Terrorism Thematic Lead, Society of Evidence Based Policing

• Founder of the CTPHQ Evidence-Based Review Group

• Senior Research Fellow and Advisory Board member, ICDRO

• Published in peer-reviewed policing and terrorism studies journals, and a contributor to Policing Insight

  Governance and professional

• Governor, NESCOT (2021–2023), Audit and Risk Committee

• Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI) and the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)

• CMI Level 7 assessor, and accredited coach and mentor