Ian has thirty-three years of policing experience across Hong Kong and the UK.

Ian joined the police as an Inspector in the Royal Hong Kong Police (RHKP) under British administration in 1990, serving as a Sub-Unit Commander in Tsuen Wan, a busy and diverse area of Hong Kong. Ian also led a proactive drugs squad during his three years in the RHKP and he travelled extensively throughout South-East Asia, learning to speak Cantonese.

Returning to the UK in 1994, Ian joined Thames Valley Police where he served in a variety of roles including the Tactical Firearms Group as a Sergeant on Armed Response Vehicles (ARV) and Mobile Armed Support to Surveillance operations (MASTS).

Ian transferred into the Metropolitan Police in 2002, completed eleven years as an Advanced Public Order (Silver/Bronze) Commander, and experienced the 2011 riots in London as well as commanding numerous football matches at Wembley National Stadium and several Premier League football clubs.

Ian was the Venue Commander for the 2012 London Olympic Games, in charge of public safety for Hyde Park events, which attracted crowds of 100,000, and he also worked for the International Cricket Council as a security manager at an overseas international cricket tournament. This combined his commitment to public safety with his interest in sports.

Ian returned to Armed Policing as a Tactical Firearms Commander before joining the MET’s Specialist Firearms Command as Chief Inspector in charge of ARV Operations. Ian led the Body Worn Video ‘project’ for National Police Chiefs Council, forming a national pilot with industry and DSTL experts and using the MET, Staffordshire Police and the Welsh tri-force collaboration of South Wales/Gwent/Dyfed Powys forces to evaluate BWV in overt armed policing.

Ian wrote national guidance which was adopted as Authorised Professional Practice. BWV was rolled out across the UK successfully and has been evaluated extensively operationally and in post incident procedures. Ian was also sent to Jamaica to advise the Jamaican government and the local Jamaica Constabulary Force on BWV matters. Cameras are now being phased in as a result.

Ian qualified as a Strategic Firearms Commander upon promotion to Superintendent and commanded numerous high profile/high risk armed operations throughout the UK from 2013-2024. These included two US Presidential visits as well as one of London’s Marauding Terrorist Attacks in 2017. Ian was commended by an Assistant Commissioner for his leadership. Ian has assessed fellow Firearms Commanders for the College of Policing since 2013 and was an accredited Specialist Firearms Commander since 2016 which enabled him to command CT operations. Ian led numerous high risk manhunt operations as a result. 

Whilst retaining his SFC accreditation, Ian moved to Aviation Policing based at London Heathrow Airport (LHR) but also responsible for operations at London City Airport (LCY). During his tenure Ian led over 450 police officers and helped develop the command and its post covid recovery. Working closely with airport operators, Ian helped develop the UK’s first Aviation Policing Counter Drone system (CUAS) at LHR. Ian has presented globally LHR’s innovative CUAS strategy. Ian has worked closely with airport operators and with industry to enhance LHR’s CUAS systems. This passion for technology has extended into Facial Recognition technology and LHR is part of the MPS roll-out of such technology across London.

Ian chaired the UK Police Airport Commanders Group and regularly represented the UK at international forums, sharing best practice and organisational learning with partners such as AIRPOL (EU) and ALEAN (USA). Ian helped AIRPOL shape its strategic business plan, specifically in relation to tackling disruptive passengers. Ian’s training team worked in partnership with AIRPOL to help deliver Major Incident training across Europe and North Africa.

Ian is currently an Associate Trainer for the UK College of Policing where he trains Strategic Firearms Commanders.