John William Giffard CBE QPM (born 1951 or 1952) is a British retired police officer. Adopted into an aristocratic family that owns Chillington Hall, he joined Staffordshire Police in 1973 as a beat bobby. After serving as a staff officer to the chief constable and a divisional commander he moved to North Yorkshire Police in 1991 to take up a position as assistant chief constable. Giffard returned to Staffordshire Police in 1996 to become its chief constable, a role he held for ten years. As chief constable he reorganised the force's divisions and introduced the Major Investigations Department. During his tenure car theft and burglaries dropped and there were no undetected murders. Giffard also served on secondment to the Home Office to assist with a review into options to merge police forces in England and Wales. His work was recognised with the award of the Queen's Police Medal and appointment as a commander of the Order of the British Empire.
In retirement Giffard served as a vice-president of the Association of Chief Police Officers and trustee of the Staffordshire Police Cadets. After inheriting Chillington Hall Giffard carried out a programme of restoration that was recognised, in 2009, with the Historic Houses Association/Sotheby's Restoration Award.
Giffard is the adopted son of Peter Richard de Longueville Giffard, of Chillington Hall, Staffordshire, and was born in 1951 or 1952. [1] He was adopted as an infant and Christened at Holy Trinity Brompton on 24 July 1952. One of his godparents was the former soldier and future Conservative Party member of parliament Airey Neave. [2]
The Giffard family have occupied Chillington Hall since 1178 and trace their lineage back to William of Gifford, a Norman knight that Professor Frank McLynn states was one of the men to kill Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. [3] Giffard was educated at Eton College. [3] He was also known by the nickname "Giff". [4]
Giffard joined Staffordshire Police in 1973, serving as a beat bobby in Stafford. [1] Giffard became staff officer to the chief constable in 1984. In 1991 he was divisional commander at Cannock and later that year transferred to the North Yorkshire Police to become an assistant chief constable. [1]
In 1996 Giffard returned to Staffordshire Police to take up the role of chief constable. In this role Giffard oversaw the reorganisation of the force's territorial divisions and, in 2003, introduced a Major Investigations Department. [1] Giffard's work was recognised with the award of the Queen's Police Medal for distinguished service, on 14 June 1997. [5] Upon the end of his seven-year tenure in 2002 the Home Office approved an extension for a further three years. [1] Giffard was appointed a commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2003 New Year Honours for services to the police. [6]
During his time as chief constable he was also a senior professional advisor to the Home Secretary. [7] Giffard had been seconded to the Home Office in late 2005 to assist with a nationwide review of policing, the Police Structures Review Unit, which looked at options to merge neighbouring forces. [8] [9]
Giffard finally retired on 2 April 2006. At the time of his retirement he was the longest-serving chief constable in England and Wales. [1] [10] His tenure saw a significant drop in reported car theft and burglaries and the force was recognised as one of the best performing in the country. During Giffard's time as chief constable there were no undetected murders in the force area. [1]
On retirement Giffard was appointed to the position of 1st vice-president of the Association of Chief Police Officers. [1] In 2017 he was appointed to the board of trustees of the Staffordshire Police Cadets. [10] The Staffordshire Police now awards the annual John Giffard Sports Award. [11]
Giffard is married to Texan-born Crescent; he has at least one son, Charlie, who became an estate agent. [4] [12] Giffard's family resided with him in Yorkshire during his appointment there. [12]
Giffard moved into Chillington Hall in 1999. [7] The passing of the Hunting Act 2004, which banned fox hunting with dogs in England and Wales, posed a particular challenge to Giffard. The Albrighton Hunt, was permitted access to the grounds of Chillington Hall by Giffard's father. The hunt had close links with the Giffard family, having been founded by his adoptive father's ancestor Walter Giffard in 1830. Giffard and his father continued to permit the hunt to use the grounds until the act came into force, but Giffard notified the hunt that he would pursue trespass charges if it continued afterwards. In a Times article discussing the issue Giffard was described as "arguably Britain's most aristocratic policeman". There was also speculation, denied by Giffard, that he had been a potential candidate for chair of the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance. [4]
Giffard later inherited the hall from his father, becoming part of the 29th generation of Giffards to own it. From 2008 he carried out a programme of restoration that included reroofing of the structure and redecoration of the rooms. His restoration of the hall's salon won the Historic Houses Association/Sotheby's Restoration Award in 2009. [13]
In retirement Giffard installed a memorial fountain in the grounds of the hall to commemorate Staffordshire Police officers who have died in service. The memorial sits in a newly planted wood with views across Western Staffordshire, with visits by arrangement with the hall. [14] In 2019 he hosted a dinner for 120 people at Chillington Hall that raised £13,000 for the police cadets. [15]
West Mercia Police, formerly the West Mercia Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire in England. The force area covers 2,868 square miles (7,430 km2) making it the fourth largest police area in England and Wales. The resident population of the area is 1.19 million Its name comes from the ancient kingdom of Mercia.
Colonel Sir Arthur Edwin Young was a British police officer. He was Commissioner of Police of the City of London from 1950 to 1971 and was also the first head of the Royal Ulster Constabulary to be styled Chief Constable. Young was instrumental in the creation of the post of Chief Inspector of Constabulary.
West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.
Bedfordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire in England, which includes the unitary authorities of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton. Its headquarters are in the town of Kempston in Bedford Borough.
Chillington Hall is a Georgian country house near Brewood, Staffordshire, England, four miles northwest of Wolverhampton. It is the residence of the Giffard family. The Grade I listed house was designed by Francis Smith in 1724 and John Soane in 1785. The park and lake were landscaped by Capability Brown.
Warwickshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Warwickshire in England. It is the second smallest territorial police force in England and Wales after the City of London Police, with only 823 regular officers as of September 2017. The resident population of the force area is 554,002.
West Yorkshire Police, formerly the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the fourth largest territorial police force in England and Wales by number of officers.
Sussex Police are the territorial police force responsible for policing in the whole of Sussex. Their jurisdiction covers the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. Their headquarters are in Malling House, Lewes, East Sussex.
Staffordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands of England. It is made up of 11 local policing teams, whose boundaries are matched to the nine local authorities within Staffordshire.
Geoffrey James Dear, Baron Dear, is a crossbench peer and retired British police officer who is a former Chief Constable of West Midlands Police. He was described by the broadcaster and writer Sir Robin Day as "the best known and most respected police officer of his generation".
Sir Charles Haughton Rafter was a British police officer who served as Chief Constable of the Birmingham City Police from 1899 until his death in 1935.
Philip Douglas Knights, Baron Knights, was an English police officer who served as Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, succeeding West Midlands Police's first Chief Constable, Sir Derrick Capper.
The Albrighton Hunt is a United Kingdom foxhound pack, with hunting country of around 30-35 miles by 20 miles (32 km) within Shropshire and Staffordshire.
John Giffard may refer to:
Sir John Giffard, of Chillington in Brewood, was a soldier, courtier, member of the English Parliament and Staffordshire landowner, who made his mark mainly during the reign of Henry VIII.
Christopher Peter Sims OBE, QPM, DL is the former Chief Constable of West Midlands Police (WMP), England's second largest and the United Kingdom's third largest police force.
Suzette Louise Davenport is a retired British police officer who is the former chief constable of Gloucestershire Constabulary. She was appointed in 2013, becoming the first woman to serve in the role; prior to this, she had held various other policing roles. She retired in 2017, having served thirty years as a police officer.
Michael Bernard Cunningham is a former senior British Police officer and was the Chief Executive of the College of Policing between 15 January 2018 and December 2020. Prior to this role, he was HM Inspector of Constabulary from 2014-2017.
Baden Henry Skitt, known as Bill Skitt, was a British police officer.
Ronald Gregory,, was a British police officer who served as chief constable of West Yorkshire Constabulary and then West Yorkshire Police from 1969 to 1983. He was head of the police force during its five-year manhunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe.