Hugh Orde


Sir Hugh Stephen Roden Orde, is a British police officer who was the President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, representing the 44 police forces of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Between 2002 and 2009, he was the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Career

Sir Hugh joined London's Metropolitan Police Service in 1977. He rose quickly through the ranks, becoming Superintendent in the Territorial Support Group. Later, as Commander responsible for the service's Community Safety and Partnership section, Orde took part in the latter phase of the enquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence and its subsequent handling by the police.
Later Orde was assigned to the senior staff of the Stevens Report which investigated government collusion in sectarian killings in Northern Ireland. He was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2001 and was knighted for his services to policing in 2005. In 2010 he was awarded a Queen's Police Medal.
Hugh Orde was appointed Chief Constable of the PSNI on 29 May 2002, taking over from Acting Chief Constable Colin Cramphorn.
In April 2009, he announced he was stepping down as Chief Constable of Northern Ireland to become President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, assuming the position in the following autumn.
In a 2010 speech at Oxford in which he discussed the threat of the dissident Irish republican campaign, Orde suggested that "To borrow a phrase from the past, we may be at an 'acceptable level of violence'—albeit at a far lower level than when the phrase was first coined" because dissident republicans were unlikely to respond to negotiation. Democratic Unionist Party MLA Jimmy Spratt called Orde's comments "outrageous" and an insult to those killed by dissident republicans.
Sir Hugh is also the director of the Police National Assessment Centre.
He also holds a degree in Public Administration from the University of Kent.
He is a member of Common Purpose UK. He attended the Matrix course in West London 1994/95.

Police Roll of Honour Trust

In November 2013 Hugh Orde took up the role of Patron of the national police charity the Police Roll of Honour Trust. He joined Stephen House and Bernard Hogan-Howe as joint patrons.

Honours




RibbonDescriptionNotes
Knight Bachelor
  • 2005
Order of the British Empire
  • 2001
  • Officer
  • Civil Division
  • Queen's Police Medal
  • 2010
  • Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
  • 2002
  • UK Version of this Medal
  • Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
  • 2012
  • UK Version of this Medal
  • Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal