Biography
Cooke was born on 10 March 1964 in Liverpool,England. He was educated at St Francis Xavier's College,then a Catholic grammar school in Liverpool. [2] He studied politics at the University of Nottingham,graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1985. [1] [2]
In 1985,Cooke joined Merseyside Police as a constable. Then,from 1989 to 2008,he served as a detective,working through each rank from detective constable to detective chief superintendent. In 2008,he became a chief officer,having been appointed assistant chief constable of Lancashire Constabulary. [1] [2] He was ACC Specialist Operations and ACC Territorial Operations. [1] He returned to Merseyside Police in 2013 as its deputy chief constable,before being appointed its chief constable in 2016. [2] In addition to the roles he held within his force,he was national policing lead for witness protection (2008–2017),for serious and organised crime (2017–2019),and for crime business area (2019–2021). [2]
In February 2021,it was announced that he had been appointed an Inspector of Constabulary for England and Wales:he took up the appointment on 12 April 2021. [4] In March 2022,it was revealed that he was the British government's preferred candidate for the joint role of HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary and Chief Fire &Rescue Inspector in England. [5] He took up the posts on 12 April 2021,in succession to Sir Tom Winsor. [6]
In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours,Cooke was awarded the Queen's Police Medal for Distinguished Service (QPM) for his service as Deputy Chief Constable of Merseyside Police. [7] In September 2021,he was made a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) to the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside. [8]
Cooke was knighted in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to Policing and to Public Service. [9]
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