Rob Beckley Deputy Chief Constable Avon & Somerset Constabulary

Rob Beckley was appointed Avon and Somerset Constabulary as Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) in January 2007.

He was born in the West Country and attended St Brendan’s College, Bristol before attending university in Durham and joining the Metropolitan Police in 1986.

Rob previously worked as Assistant Chief Constable (Crime and Operations) at Hertfordshire Constabulary, with responsibility for day-to-day operational policing and performance. Prior to this he was ACC for operational support in the same force.

His police career began when joined the Metropolitan Police in 1986. During his ten years with the Met, he had a number of operational roles across London, including inner city roles in Brixton and Southall before becoming Head of Race and Minority Policy at New Scotland Yard.

He joined Thames Valley Police in 1997 on promotion to Superintendent and in 1998 he was promoted to Chief Superintendent in charge of the southern half of Buckinghamshire, a post he held until March 2001 when he left to join Hertfordshire.

Rob currently sits on the ACPO Race and Diversity Committee and Terrorism and Allied Matters Committee. He set up and led the National Community Tension Team in its work in respect of community cohesion, public disorder and the community strand of the national prevention of terrorism strategy.

Rob also has wide command experience. He was the police commander for the Potters Bar Crash in 2002, he led the national police service response to community tensions and concerns after 7/7 and recently helped co-ordinate the response to the Buncefield Fire.

Before joining the police Rob spent almost four years in aid and development work, primarily in Africa. He is married with three young sons. He is interested in international issues, is a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and is a very keen cyclist. At various times he has roved around all corners of Avon, Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire on his bike.