Who we are
Gary Ritchie KPM
GCG Consortium · Member record
Australia
Tab 01 · Profile
Profile
Managing Partner, and former Assistant Chief Constable of Police Scotland, retiring in 2025 after 34 years' policing service, with executive oversight of organisational change, partnerships and prevention, international policing development and operational support. He chaired the Scottish Resilience Partnership — advising the First Minister of Scotland on emergency and event preparedness — and held Gold Command during COP26 in Glasgow. He was awarded the King's Police Medal in 2025 and made an Honorary Professor of Edinburgh Napier University. He is now based in Sydney.
Appointed Assistant Chief Constable in 2019, Gary developed new public-health-led approaches in partnership with other public services to reduce and prevent harm and achieve better outcomes for communities and vulnerable people. As head of drug strategy he compiled Police Scotland's first dedicated drug strategy, shifting the emphasis from enforcement to harm reduction, and led the rollout of nasal Naloxone to police officers — making Scotland the first nation in the world to equip all its frontline officers, an approach that has since helped save hundreds of lives. His final portfolio, Operational Support, spanned armed policing, public order, critical incident and specialist command training, events, emergencies and resilience planning, and the provision of specialist policing services.
He established Police Scotland's International Academy, founded on senior police leadership development through international study, engagement and networking, and created leadership programmes with police agencies in the USA, Australia, South East Asia, South America and Africa. A former board member of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research — a nexus of eight Scottish universities supporting evidence-based policing policy and practice — he now chairs its International Board. He was awarded the King's Police Medal in 2025 and, in recognition of his collaboration with academia, was made an Honorary Professor of Edinburgh Napier University.
Tab 02 · Areas of expertise
Areas of expertise
- Strategic command Accredited and highly experienced Strategic Firearms Commander, Public Order Gold Commander and Counter Terrorist Commander; held a Gold Command role during COP26 in Glasgow.
- Resilience & emergency preparedness Oversaw Police Scotland's Operational Support directorate — armed policing, public order, critical incident and specialist command training, events, emergencies and resilience planning — and chaired the Scottish Resilience Partnership, the multi-agency group advising the First Minister of Scotland on emergency and event preparedness and response.
- Public health & harm reduction Compiled Police Scotland's first dedicated drug strategy, shifting the emphasis from enforcement to harm reduction, and led the rollout of nasal Naloxone that made Scotland the first nation in the world to equip all its frontline police officers.
- Leadership development Established Police Scotland's International Academy and senior leadership development programmes with police agencies in the USA, Australia, South East Asia, South America and Africa, built around values-based and adaptive leadership, strategic incident command and conflict de-escalation.
- Partnerships & prevention Led the Partnerships, Prevention and Community Wellbeing directorate, developing new public-health-led approaches in partnership with other public services to reduce and prevent harm and achieve better outcomes for communities and vulnerable people.
Tab 03 · Service record
Service record
- 2019 – 2025 Assistant Chief Constable, Police Scotland Member of the Police Scotland executive team, overseeing portfolios and directorates for Organisational Change; Partnerships, Prevention and Community Wellbeing; International Policing Development; and Operational Support. Chaired the Scottish Resilience Partnership, directly advising the First Minister of Scotland on emergency and event preparedness and response.
- 2021 Gold Commander, COP26 climate conference, Glasgow Held a Gold Command role for the conference, with primary duties of media liaison and strategic partnerships.
- Earlier career Policing service A career police officer, retiring in 2025 after 34 years' policing service. An accredited and highly experienced Strategic Firearms Commander, Public Order Gold Commander and Counter Terrorist Commander.
Tab 04 · Consortium delivery