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King's Birthday Honours:

Congratulations to policing and public safety recipients of the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours

Policing and public safety honours
King's Birthday Honours 2026

We are pleased to publish and recognise the policing and public safety recipients of the UK and overseas 2026 King's Birthday Honours. The team at Policing Insight offer our congratulations and thank all the recipients for their service.

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Former Merseyside Chief Constable Serena KennedySerena Margaret KENNEDY KPM DL – Lately Chief Constable, Merseyside Police. For services to Policing
As the first female Chief Constable of her force, she guided it through some of the most challenging periods in its history. Under her leadership, the force retained its HMICFRS position as top performing metropolitan force and ranked 9th overall in England and Wales. Her leadership informed national debate on reforming police communications, and her evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee shaped new government guidance on transparency, now issued to all forces. As the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for Prevention, she focused on reducing harm, offending, and demand through partnership-based problem solving. She led the huge integrity screening project – the largest ever – for the NPCC, and worked with the Home Office to embed a long-term capability for integrity screening to strengthen public trust.

Professor Sarah Lucina HACKMAN – Chair of Forensic Anthropology and Head of Discipline, Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, University of Dundee. For services to Forensic Anthropology and Disaster Victim Identification
She is a global expert who has changed the way that mass fatality events in the UK are investigated, also leading novel research that has seen child sexual abusers brought to justice and removed from society. She designed, implemented and evaluated training programmes in both forensic anthropology and disaster victim identification (DVI), when no such professional approach existed. In 2007, she designed, taught and implemented the first DVI professional training programme, leading to the first ever textbook in DVI and to her becoming a ‘go to’ advisor for Interpol and other global investigative authorities.

Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

Professor Paul Jonathon TAYLOR, Police Chief Scientific Adviser, National Police Chiefs’ Council. For services to Science in Policing

DCC Terry WoodsTerence WOODS QPM, Deputy Chief Constable, Greater Manchester Police. For services to Policing
Terry Woods is the UK’s most experienced Deputy Chief Constable, beginning his policing career in 1996 with Lancashire Constabulary, having previously served as a Special Constable at Greater Manchester Police. After serving the public across many areas, including response, specialist operations, neighbourhood policing and safeguarding, he was promoted to Assistant Chief Constable in 2017, and later Deputy Chief Constable in 2019, before joining GMP in September 2021. He is the National Police Chiefs Council’s lead for Police Driving, and in this role has informed the transformation of training standards, legislative change and tenaciously brought all 48 forces into full compliance. His work has contributed to public safety and provided more recognition and legal protections for police officers for the risk they are willing to take whilst protecting the public when driving in response to an emergency.

Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

Stephen Olumbunmi AKINSANYA, Barrister. For services to the Prevention of Knife Crime and Youth Violence

Dean AMES, Drugs and Toxicology Forensic Consultant, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to Public Safety

Colonel (Rtd) Timothy Langton KINGSBERRY, Border Force Deputy Director Operations South, Home Office. For services to Border Security and Safeguarding

Alexis Mary POOLE, Assistant Chief Officer, Devon and Cornwall Police. For services to Policing

Susanna TUGWELL, Deputy Director, National Crime Agency. For services to Law Enforcement

Dr Adrian WEST, Officer, National Crime Agency. For services to Law Enforcement

Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

Daniel CONNOLLY, Officer, National Crime Agency. For services to Law Enforcement

Gary DAVIES, Youth Justice Practitioner, Community First Responder and lately Police Officer. For services to Public Safety

Ian Henry DRYSDALE, Deputy Chief Officer, Kent Police. For services to Policing

Kyle GORDON, Police Sergeant, British Transport Police. For services to Transport Policing

Vincent Stuart JONES, Police Staff, West Midlands Police. For services to the community in the West Midlands

Thelma Viona Anderson MACKENZIE, Special Police Constable, Northern Constabulary, The Police Service of Scotland. For Voluntary and Public Service to the community in Thurso, Caithness

Amanda RADLEY, Child Exploitation Subject Matter Expert, British Transport Police. For services to Vulnerable Children and Adults

Brian Phillip WHITAKER, Police Staff, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to Policing and to National Security

Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)*

Janice BULFIELD, Police Staff, Thames Valley Police. For services to Policing

Susan FALCONER, Police Community Support Officer. For services to the community in Blackwood, Caerphilly

Georgina JOHNSTONE, Engagement and Consultation Officer, West Midlands Police. For services to the community in the West Midlands

Margaret LAWSON, Community Safety Manager, South Yorkshire Police. For services to Young People in South Yorkshire

Michael John William LEONARD, Special Sergeant, West Midlands Police. For services to Policing

Frederick George LEWIS, Volunteer Appropriate Adult, South Yorkshire Police. For services to Vulnerable People in Custody

John Cyril MEEK, Rural and Business Crime Officer, West Mercia Police. For services to the Rural Community

Hitesh MEHTA, Special Constable, West Midlands Police and Charity Trustee, Shree Krishna Temple. For services to Policing, to Charity and to Volunteering in Coventry, West Midlands

Dharmesh MISTRY, Police Constable, West Yorkshire Police. For services to Policing and to the community in Bradford and Leeds

Stephen James O’CALLAGHAN, Safeguarding and Crime Prevention Lead, TransPennine Express. For services to Rail Safety

Adrian RICHARDS, Police Community Support Officer, Durham Constabulary. For services to the community in Chester-le-Street, County Durham

John Gordon SCOTT, Serious Crime Exhibits and Property Manager, Police Service of Northern Ireland. For services to Policing

King’s Police Medal (KPM) Home Office

Nicholas James BLACKBURN, Detective Chief Superintendent, Metropolitan Police Service.

Hayley Laura CRAWFORD, lately Inspector, Nottinghamshire Police.

Heidi Patricia GOLDSACK, Constable, North Wales Police.

Yasmin LALANI, Detective Chief Inspector, Metropolitan Police Service.

Kim MADILL, Chief Superintendent, West Midlands Police.

Russell MASSIE, Sergeant, Thames Valley Police.

Richard Jon PADWELL, Chief Superintendent, West Yorkshire Police.

Amanda PEARSON, Chief Constable, Dorset Police.

Jason PYE, Detective Chief Inspector, Merseyside Police.

Emma RICKARD, Detective Sergeant, Metropolitan Police Service.

Michelle SHOOTER, Deputy Chief Constable, Derbyshire Constabulary.

Paul James SHUTLER, Constable, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary.

Timothy Robert SMITH, Chief Constable, Kent Police.

John Christopher SYKES, Assistant Chief Constable, Greater Manchester Police.

Laurence James TAYLOR, Assistant Commissioner, Metropolitan Police Service.

Mohammed Munim UDDIN, Sergeant, Metropolitan Police Service.

King’s Police Medal (KPM) Northern Ireland Office

Elaine McCABE, Sergeant, Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Jonathan Anthony McTOAL, Inspector, Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Ronald Dwayne STEWART, Sergeant, Police Service of Northern Ireland.

King’s Police Medal (KPM) Scottish Office

Michelle Webster, Management Support Sergeant, Police Scotland

Rhona Meikle, Police Sergeant, Police Scotland

Sarah Taylor, Detective Chief Superintendent, Police Scotland

Crown Dependencies (KPM)

Isle of Man
Kate CROMPTON, Detective Constable, Isle of Man Constabulary.

Overseas (KPM)

Peter Alan LANSDOWN, Detective Superintendent, Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.


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