Loading AI tools
British police officer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Judith Kyle Gillespie, CBE (born November 1962)[1] is a retired senior police officer. She was the Deputy Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland between June 2009 and March 2014.
Judith Gillespie | |
---|---|
Deputy Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland | |
In office 1 June 2009 – 31 March 2014 | |
Preceded by | Paul Leighton |
Succeeded by | Drew Harris |
Acting Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland | |
In office August 2009 – September 2009 | |
Preceded by | Sir Hugh Orde |
Succeeded by | Sir Matt Baggott |
Personal details | |
Born | Judith Kyle Gillespie November 1962 (age 61) |
Citizenship | United Kingdom |
Nationality | British |
Children | Two |
Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
Profession | Police officer |
Gillespie was born and raised in North Belfast[2] and was educated at Belfast Royal Academy[3] She completed a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in public policy and administration in 1992. She went on to study for a master's degree in applied criminology at the University of Cambridge, which she completed in 2005.[2][4]
Gillespie began her policing career when she joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in 1982 as a police constable.[5] During her initial training at Enniskillen, she was awarded the Baton of Honour.[4] She had previously been rejected by the RUC because of her gender.[6] She spent her early career policing the Greater Belfast area.[7] She was promoted to chief inspector in 1997, superintendent in 1999, and chief superintendent in 2002.[4]
In 2003, she attended the Strategic Command Course at the Police Staff College, Bramshill.[8] In 2004, she was appointed assistant chief constable.[9] This made her the first female to reach chief officer rank in the Police Service of Northern Ireland.[8][5] On 1 June 2009, she was promoted to deputy chief constable, becoming the second most senior police officer in Northern Ireland.[7][9] She served as acting chief constable from August 2009 to September 2009.[10] In March 2011, she was given the opportunity to retire early with a £500,000 severance package but chose to continue her career.[6] She retired from the police on 31 March 2014.[9]
A keen sportswoman, she played hockey and squash for the RUC.[11] In 2013, when the World Police and Fire Games was held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, she served as the chair of the board.[12][13]
Gillespie is married and has two daughters.[14]
She took up running after the death of the sister-in-law from cancer. She has completed the Belfast Marathon relay, Race for Life and the Great North Run, raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.[11]
Gillespie was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours for public service.[15] In the 2014 Birthday Honours, she was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to policing and the community in Northern Ireland.[16] In July 2012, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Queen's University Belfast.[10]
Ribbon | Description | Notes |
Order of the British Empire (CBE) |
| |
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal |
| |
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal |
| |
Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal | ||
Royal Ulster Constabulary Service Medal | ||
Police Service of Northern Ireland Service Medal | ||
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.