Alan Pughsley is responsible for:

• the direction and control of the force
• budget management and the use of funds to deliver force objectives

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

He’s also a member of the Kent Partnership and the Public Service Board.

Biography

Alan Pughsley joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1984 where he carried out a variety of roles, mainly as a detective. He has expertise in murder investigations, armed robbery, firearms and drug related crimes. In 2005 he ran the Kidnap and Specialist Investigation Unit and led the Special Project’s Team tackling ‘contract killings’ and serious and organised crime.

In 2007 Mr Pughsley went to Lewisham, South London as Borough Commander. He was responsible for all policing activity in the borough, including crime detection and reduction, citizen focus, neighbourhood policing and partnership working.

Mr Pughsley has also spent time with Surrey Police as a Detective Superintendent in the Partnership and Criminal Justice Unit, responsible for establishing strategic alliances and working partnerships with key stakeholders.

Mr Pughsley joined Kent Police on 18 May 2009 as Assistant Chief Constable for Specialist Operations before heading up a new joint Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, one of the largest in the country.

In March 2011 Mr Pughsley was appointed Deputy Chief Constable where he led on the design and implementation of a new policing model, was responsible for quality performance delivery as well as ensuring the force was run in an efficient and effective way.

In December 2013 Mr Pughsley was appointed Chief Constable of Kent Police, taking up the role in January 2014. He said: ‘I am honoured and privileged to be given the opportunity to serve the communities of Kent as Chief Constable.’

In June 2015 Mr Pughsley received the prestigious Queen’s Police Medal in Her Majesty’s Birthday Honours list. The medal is awarded by the Sovereign for distinguished service.

Tim Smith is responsible for:

• intelligence and specialist operations
• major, serious and organised crime
• forensics.

Biography

Tim Smith has over 28 years police service all 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’s current role is Deputy Chief Constable. Prior to this, Tim’s most previous roles were 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 8 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.

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.

• vulnerability investigation teams
• criminal investigation department
• local policing teams
  
  

Biography

Peter Ayling took up the position of Assistant Chief Constable on 18 June 2018.

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.

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.

Nicola Faulconbridge took up the position of Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) for Central Operations on the 24 January 2022 which includes Tactical Operations consisting of Firearms, Dogs, Public Order, Roads Policing and the Search and Marine Unit; the Force Crime and Incident Command, Counter-Terrorism and Borders policing. In this role she is also the Chair of the Kent Resilience Forum, working with partner agencies across Kent and Medway. She previously worked as the Temporary ACC for Local Policing from November 2018 and was Temporary ACC for Central Operations from 11 October 2019 before securing the role permanently following her completion of the Strategic Command Course in December 2021.

Ms Faulconbridge joined Kent Police in December 2000 from the ambulance service and was initially posted to West Division where she worked in uniform before joining CID and gaining her detective accreditation. During her career she has worked in various detective and uniform roles on both West and North Divisions as well as in the Force Control Room.

Ms Faulconbridge has been a firearms commander since 2007 and holds the Specialist SFC accreditation enabling her to command high threat and serious crime related firearms incidents; she is also a Gold Public Order commander for the Force.

Ms Faulconbridge completed a BSc in Applied Criminal Investigation whilst completing her detective accreditation and went on to complete a master’s degree in International Criminal Justice with the University of Portsmouth. She is the Chair of the Kent Police Recreation Association, a position she has now held for five years.

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.

• 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.

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.