Tim Smith is responsible for:

• the direction and control of the force
• budget management and the use of funds to deliver objectives set out in the Police and Crime Plan

As Chief Constable he’s accountable to the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and is the person responsible to the courts for police operations.

Biography

Tim Smith has over 28 years police service served within Kent and Essex Police, with the exception of a short secondment to South Australia Police in 2009. Tim has served in uniform local policing roles; however the majority of his service has been in detective roles both in local policing and specialist roles including major crime, serious and organised crime, public protection and special branch. Tim is also an accredited and experienced Senior Firearms Commander.

Tim became chief constable on 13 December 2022. Prior to this, Tim’s most previous roles were temporary chief constable, deputy chief constable, ACC for the Serious Crime Directorate and Divisional Commander for North Kent, a division encompassing the main urban areas of Kent bordering London.

Tim has led complex and large scale investigations, most notably in 2006 he was one of the SIOs for the Securitas robbery, the largest ever peacetime cash robbery, where he led the day to day enquires including covert investigations for some eight months. More recently Tim has led an EU funded project to roll out internet child protection tools to all 28 EU member states, as well as several other countries around the world.

Tim has a passion for criminal investigation and previously performed the role of head of crime for the force, during which time he helped develop the current policing model aimed at improving the force’s response to vulnerable people.

Biography

Peter Ayling took up the position of Deputy Chief Constable on 6 January 2023. Peter undertook the role of Temporary Deputy Chief Constable from 4 October 2022 and Assistant Chief Constable (local policing) from 18 June 2018 to 3 October 2022.

Peter joined Kent Police in 1998 working in a variety of roles including local policing, public order and firearms command and strategic partnerships.

In 2011 he joined the Metropolitan Police Service on promotion to superintendent.

During his time in the Metropolitan Police Service Peter had responsibility for more than 1,500 officers and staff as the Borough Commander for Westminster, where he led on a number of critical issues including the aftermath of the Westminster terror attack.

As a member of the Metropolitan Police Service Advanced Public Order Cadre Peter commanded in high risk and complex environments across London including mass protest, high profile football fixtures and ceremonial events.

Ian Drysdale is the Deputy Chief Officer and responsible for the direction, control and enhancement of all non-operational support functions.

Working alongside the Deputy Chief Constable, Ian supports the Chief Constable in ensuring the force’s resources meet the chief constable’s policing mission, vision, values and priorities whilst operating in an affordable funding context.

Key responsibilities include the functions discharged by:

• The Director of Support Services
• The Director of Human Resources
• The Director of Corporate Communications
• The Head of Legal Services
• The Head of the Strategic Change

Ian is professionally qualified as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD) and has a master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA). A former Director of HR and a lead for Organisational and Development and Change – he has held many senior management positions in a policing career spanning 30 years.

Ian graduated from the Strategic Command Course in 2011. He is the Forces lead on Diversity and Inclusion. Nationally, Ian is the Vice Chair of the Chief Police Officers Staff Association.

Adam took up the role of temporary assistant chief constable (local policing) on 3 October 2022.

Vaughan took up the position of Temporary Assistant Chief Constable for Central Operations in October 2022 which includes Tactical Operations, Force Control Room, and Counter-Terrorism Policing.

Vaughan joined Kent Police in 1999 and during his career has worked in a variety of roles, predominantly in uniform. He was seconded as an Inspector to local government from 2006 to 2008 and returned to Kent to perform a number of senior roles including District Command, Human Resources, Change Projects and within Tactical Operations leading Public Order and Firearms, where he was promoted to superintendent.

Vaughan was the head of Victim Justice for two years from 2019 and more recently, he has led Tactical Operations and Counter Terrorism and Borders Policing. He is a strategic firearms and public order gold commander and a multi agency gold incident commander.

Tracey Harman is the Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) for Crime.

Mrs Harman was the temporary ACC for the Serious Crime Directorate (SCD) for 18 months before becoming the ACC for Crime. As the Temporary ACC SCD she led the joint Force response to serious and organised crime and was Gold Commander for Operation Sandpiper - a large scale complex and sensitive investigation.

Before this, Mrs Harman was the Essex Police divisional commander for West Essex, a local policing area encompassing Thurrock, Epping Forest, Brentwood and Harlow, policing urban areas bordering London as well as the rural areas of Epping Forest.

Mrs Harman is an accredited and experienced strategic firearms commander, gold public order commander, accredited senior investigating officer and authorising officer.

Mrs Harman has led complex and large-scale investigations including child and stranger homicides, complex child abuse investigations and dismantling organised criminal networks. She has been the Essex Police lead for serious violence, directing the knife crime and serious violence response following Home Office funding. She has been the investigative lead for high profile visits to the region, such as that of the President of the United States to Stansted and was silver commander for the first 72 hours of the investigation into the deaths of 39 Vietnamese nationals in Thurrock.

Andrew Pritchard has taken up the position as Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) for the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.

Andrew was raised in Kent and joined Kent Police in 1996. He has spent all his policing career to date in one Force, having graduated in Birmingham and worked in the field of psychology services for a few years within the NHS prior to joining.

Accrediting as a detective in 2000, most of Andrew's career since has been as a detective with a side-line in hostage and crisis negotiation.

A specialisation in vulnerability policing has been a mainstay in Andrew's career since becoming a detective inspector in 2007, both on division and then in central strategic/operational roles with a brief hiatus as divisional commander for 2017/18.

Andrew enjoys the outdoors, cycling and being a career rugby player - but largely holds the whistle more these days.

• the development and implementation of corporate people and learning strategies
• the delivery of learning and development
• recruitment and people resourcing
• operational and strategic human resources delivery
• occupational health services
• talent management and people development
• Performance Improvement Units
• Business Services

Gavin McKinnon became Director of Corporate Communications in July 2010.

Mr McKinnon served in the British Army in Northern Ireland from 1989 as part of the 1st/9th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment and 9th Battalion Royal Irish Regiment CGC. He then became a police officer with the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC (later the Police Service of Northern Ireland), serving through until 2010 when he came to Kent Police from the National Policing Improvement Agency (now known as the College of Policing).

Rising to the rank of Chief Superintendent, Mr McKinnon held a number of national roles in policing including senior police legal advisor to the President of ACPO (now known as the national Police Chief's Council), Deputy Director in the Police Reform Unit at the Home Office, Director of Crime and Justice at a leading think-tank, and leading the UK Home Office’s Department of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs. He has led on a diverse range of policing communications including the programme to establish the Police Service of Northern Ireland following the Patten Review, the establishment of the National Policing Improvement Agency, and UK-wide anti-street crime and burglary campaigns amongst others.

In July 2016 Mr McKinnon started a two-year career break to work in the private sector, leading the Regulatory Affairs team of the world’s largest oil company, which is based in Saudi Arabia. He returned to Kent Police as Director of Corporate Communications and Citizens in Policing in July 2018.

Mr McKinnon holds degrees in Law, Criminology and Counter-terrorism, and is a graduate of the US Senior Management Institute for Police as well as the Bramshill Senior Leadership Development Programme.

In addition to his regular role, since 2012 Mr McKinnon has served as Chief Officer of the Kent Special Constabulary which, in 2014, became the first special constabulary to receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service – the highest award for volunteering in the UK.

Outside work he has been an author of the police promotion manuals and the National Investigators’ Exam manual since 2006.