Mark Rowley

Rowley was educated at Handsworth Grammar School, then an all boys state grammar school in Handsworth, Birmingham.[5] In 1983, he matriculated into St Catharine's College, Cambridge. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1986.[6]

In 1987, Rowley began his policing career when he joined West Midlands Police as a constable.[7] His early career centred on Birmingham where he undertook a broad range of both uniformed and detective roles.[8]

He joined the National Criminal Intelligence Service as a Detective Superintendent.[8] During his time serving in the NCIS, he led the development of covert operations to combat organised crime.[7] In 2000, he joined Surrey Police as a senior officer when he was appointed Chief Superintendent in command of the West Surrey Basic Command Unit.[9][8][5] Starting in 2002, he led the five-year investigation into the murder of Milly Dowler.[8]

In November 2003, he was promoted to Assistant Chief Constable.[5] His responsibilities originally included local policing, crime reduction and criminal justice, but in 2005 his role changed and he became responsible for major and organised crime.[10] He was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in 2007.[10] He served as temporary Chief Constable of Surrey Police from March 2008.[5] He was appointed Chief Constable of the force in March 2009.[7] From 2009 to 2011, he was a member of Association of Chief Police Officers Cabinet.[8]

He reached the short list of four candidates to become head of the new National Crime Agency but lost out to Keith Bristow.[11][12] He joined the Metropolitan Police Service as Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations in October 2011.[13][14]

In January 2018, Rowley announced he would retire from the police in March.[4] He was succeeded by Neil Basu. [15]