Brian Paddick joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1976, living in Highbury and Limehouse while he worked for four years ‘on the beat’ as a Constable in Holloway. He rose steadily through the ranks, serving in uniform as a response team officer, community officer, and as a member of the riot squad. He also spent time as a detective, performing many and varied roles both at “the front end” and at New Scotland Yard. Brian worked in Brixton (twice), Fulham, Deptford, Lewisham, Thornton Heath (where his brother was the local vicar) and Notting Hill during this period while living in Sutton, Pimlico and Westminster, and for a while outside London.
Brian Paddick was the Borough Commander for Merton for two-and-a-half years, responsible for policing Wimbledon, Mitcham and Merton, and then Police Commander for the London Borough of Lambeth. At Lambeth Brian Paddick had direct responsibility for 940 police officers and 230 support staff and an annual budget of £37m.
Following a period in the Specialist Crime Directorate (which deals with serious cases such as murder, kidnap and fraud) Brian returned to borough-based policing, overseeing Barnet, Harrow, Hillingdon, Ealing, Brent, Camden, Hammersmith & Fulham and Islington Boroughs. He also had responsibility for youth and community issues including Police Community Support Officers and police volunteers across the whole of London.
In November 2003, Brian Paddick was promoted Deputy Assistant Commissioner and in April 2005 took over the day-to-day running of Territorial Policing across all 32 London Boroughs together with responsibility for 20,000 police officers and support staff. He was accountable for reducing “volume crime” in London (all offences up to and including rape in terms of seriousness) and increasing the number of offenders brought to justice.
Brian Paddick has been a champion of equality and diversity throughout his service, from working on the front line as a community officer in Brixton following the 1981 riots through to his retirement on 31 May 2007 as the highest ranking openly gay police officer in the UK. For eighteen months Brian was the national lead for the police service on disability and mental health issues. He has performed many high-profile roles, including police spokesperson for the Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales and after the London bombings on 7 July 2005, where he worked closely with the Muslim community.
Through police scholarships, Brian studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the Queen’s College, Oxford and has a Master of Business Administration degree from Warwick Business School. He also has a diploma in Policing and Applied Criminology from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.