Who we are
Craig Smith
GCG Consortium · Member record
United Kingdom
Tab 01 · Profile
Profile
Former Police Scotland Superintendent and Head of Specialist Operations with more than 28 years of police service, holding national command of Scotland's specialist policing capabilities – from public order, air support and CBRN to dogs, dive and marine, mountain rescue and hostage negotiation. Lead public order tactical commander for COP26 and lead Public Order Commander in Scotland for the funeral of HRH Queen Elizabeth II.
From 2019 to 2025 Craig commanded Police Scotland's national specialist operations portfolio, responsible for the tactical direction, operational effectiveness and continuous improvement of every specialist unit in the country, with multi-million-pound budgets and direct reporting to chief officers and national policing boards. He drove innovation across the portfolio: introducing Digital Evidence Detection Dogs to target serious and organised crime and support counter-terrorism, developing a 10-year national air strategy, and establishing the first UK internal police drone pilot training programme approved by the Civil Aviation Authority.
His command record spans COP26 – as venue and lead public order tactical commander – the funeral of HRH Queen Elizabeth II, the President Trump visit and numerous high-risk European football fixtures. He deployed to Colombia in support of a United Nations initiative on human rights in public order policing, and led Scotland's delegation to the Euro 2024 championships in Germany. He is a qualified Public Order Gold, Silver and Bronze Commander, Event and Football Match Commander and Tactical Firearms Commander.
Tab 02 · Areas of expertise
Areas of expertise
- Specialist operations command As Head of Specialist Operations for Police Scotland, held national command of dogs, public order, dive and marine, CBRN, air support, mounted, mountain rescue, search and negotiators, reporting directly to chief officers and national policing boards.
- Public order command Qualified Public Order Gold, Silver and Bronze Commander; lead public order tactical commander for the COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow and lead Public Order Commander in Scotland for the funeral of HRH Queen Elizabeth II; mentor to public order commanders in other UK forces.
- Major event security Command roles across high-risk European football fixtures, the President Trump visit – airport, motorcade and residency security – and head of the Scotland delegation at the Euro 2024 championships in Germany.
- Search & rescue National lead for police search advisors and for search and rescue by dog, dive and marine, mountain rescue and air support units across remote, hazardous and maritime environments, working with voluntary rescue organisations and coastguards.
- Crisis & emergency management Gold Commander for high-profile events and critical and major incidents in Glasgow; directed national CBRN incident response and contingency planning and the National Negotiators Unit for hostage and mental-health crisis resolution.
Tab 03 · Service record
Service record
- 2019 – 2025 Superintendent, Head of Specialist Operations, Police Scotland National operational command of the specialist policing portfolio – dog unit, public order, dive and marine, CBRN, air support, mounted, mountain rescue, search and the National Negotiators Unit – with national policy, standardised training, multi-agency exercising and multi-million-pound budget responsibility.
- Earlier career Police service, Scotland More than 28 years' service in the leadership and operational command of national specialist policing capabilities, including Gold Command of high-profile public events and critical and major incidents in Glasgow.
Tab 04 · Consortium delivery