Jon Boutcher | |
|---|---|
 Boutcher in 2024 | |
| Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland | |
Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 12 October 2023 | |
| Deputy | Mark Hamilton Bobby Singleton [1] |
| Preceded by | Simon Byrne |
| Personal details | |
| Education | University of Cambridge |
| Profession | Police officer |
Jonathan Michael Boutcher QPM (born 10 October 1965) is a senior British police officer. He was appointed as Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on 7 November 2023. [2] [3]
Boutcher was born on 10 October 1965 in Derby,Derbyshire,England. He was educated at Spondon School in Derby. [4] He later studied applied criminology and police management at Wolfson College,Cambridge,graduating with a Master of Studies (MSt) degree in 2015. [4] [5] His thesis was titled "Understanding Cybercrime and the Cybercriminal". [6]
Boutcher was a Metropolitan Police Cadet in 1983,before becoming a police constable in the Metropolitan Police Service in 1984. He became a detective,reaching the rank of detective chief superintendent. [4] In 2003,he joined the Anti-Terrorist Branch. [7] He was a senior commander in the Metropolitan Police operation that saw Jean Charles de Menezes shot dead in London;he had been misidentified as a suspect in the 21 July 2005 London attempted bombings. [8]
In 2011,he reached chief officer rank,serving as assistant chief constable of Hertfordshire Constabulary and leader of the Bedfordshire,Cambridgeshire,and Hertfordshire Joint Protective Services Command. [4] In 2014,he moved to Bedfordshire Police as deputy chief constable. [4] He then served as chief constable of the force from 2015 until April 2019. [9]
From 2019 to 2023,he led Operation Kenova,a series of historical investigations into murders which occurred during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. [10] [11] Kenova published its interim report outlining its findings on 8 March 2024. [12] He was succeeded as head of the operation by Iain Livingstone in 2023. [13]
He served as interim chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) from 12 October 2023 whilst the recruitment process was ongoing to appoint someone permanently. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] On 7 November 2023,it was announced that the appointment had been made permanent by the Northern Ireland Policing Board. [19] He receives a salary of £220,000. [7]
Boutcher was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in the 2015 Birthday Honours. [20]