Pete O’Doherty is the new Commissioner of the City of London Police (CoLP). He kindly agreed to an exclusive interview for my Rank Success Police Promotion and Leadership Podcast, which forms Season 5 Episode 5. In this quick briefing, I cover some key highlights from this latest inspiring police podcast interview.
I’m grateful to the Commissioner, who was very generous with in-depth answers to questions on a range of police promotion topics. These included his responsibilities as the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) lead for Information Assurance and Cyber Security, along with wider issues of leadership, values and perspectives on the future.
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I embed the recording below for your convenience. Read on for some key highlights and background to Pete’s career…
New Commissioner for City of London Police
Pete shares his personal philosophy, approach and mindset to progressing his career to date, starting in the City of London Police as a Constable, before ascending the rank structure. He gained development and experience across different forces in senior leadership roles, before returning to the City of London as Deputy Commissioner and more recently Commissioner.
Interestingly, the selection process for CoLP Commissioner is a rather long one. Pete explains how the process started last July. Whilst the outcome resulted in his recent appointment, the process culminates in Royal Assent and then swearing the oath to an appointed Kings Court Judge, which is imminent.
I was inspired to conduct this interview when I first heard Pete talk at the Emergency Services and Tech show at the NEC. I listened to him speak on some of the threats and opportunities for policing around cybercrime and data security issues.
Pete was very personable and open, taking questions from a large audience, including from younger aspiring ‘tech geeks’ seeking insights on joining policing via specialist investigative pathways. I saw a high level of interest generally, including a long queue of people who waited afterwards for the opportunity to speak Pete to ask follow up questions.
For aspiring police leaders, especially police promotion candidates, this interview is jam packed with leadership insights from this new Commissioner. Pete’s responses allude to learning, continuous professional development (CPD) and setbacks. For example, the importance of mindset is clear after he talks about being unsuccessful at his initial attempt at the high potential development scheme (now the Fast Track programme).
CVF, Values and Expectations of Leaders
Pete alludes to his expectations of leaders, including what he looks for from Chief Inspectors aspiring to Superintendent rank and beyond. Well worth a listen and with a notepad to hand if that’s you!
I also ask him about the Competency and Values Framework (CVF) and how important he believes emotional intelligence is for leaders in policing. The following comments resonated with me…
“I’ll be really frank here, there is a view held by many people in the organisation that some people that have gone on to progress have put themselves first, sometimes at the expense of others and I truly believe that does not need to happen. Quite the opposite. You have a responsibility to help develop and progress others around you as you progress in the organisation; because on promotion you get a bigger salary, you get a bigger office, you get more staff… but what you really get is a bigger responsibility to help improve the organisation, to help support people around you to ensure the public benefits.”
On career progression, especially the personal motivation aspects (“and luck”) needed, Pete was inspirational in his response.
“Anyone can achieve most things. The only two questions you have to answer are: What is it you want? How hard are you willing to work for it? Because pretty much anyone can achieve so much more than they realise, but people don’t put the work in and don’t know how to put the work in. And I think my insight is that, if you are good to people and you put your mind on something and you give it everything you’ve got, you can pretty much achieve anything you want to.”
The Digital Future and Closing Thoughts…
Speaking to his role as NPCC lead for cyber and information assurance, and as head of the Police Information Assurance Board, Pete explains key aspects and provides a very interesting overview of some of the threats and challenges cybercrime presents for policing now and into the future. Artificial intelligence will no doubt be a large factor.
I also ask how policing measures up to responding to such threats and opportunities and how this bodes going forwards, such as the Detect, Prevent, Defend strategy. He expands on this again in some detail for listeners.
As another example of the questions answered in this fascinating interview, I close by asking what career advice he would give himself as a young Constable if he could go back in time… Why not listen in to find out!
While CoLP covers just 1 square mile, there’s lots going on. If you’re interested in this force, or indeed you’re an aspiring officer here, then I recommend you read the force’s latest PEEL assessment and their latest Policing Plan.
I’m grateful again to Pete for sharing his leadership insights with listeners and sparing time from what is no doubt a busy schedule overseeing policing in the City of London. There’s great interest here for any officer (and others) interested in digital policing, CoLP, leadership, promotion and more. I hope you enjoy the episode!
Kind Regards, Steve
Seeking police promotion? Want a MASSIVE head start right now? Hit the ground running with your personal digital promotion toolkit, and/or my market-leading Police Promotion Masterclass. There’s nothing else like it to effectively prepare you for success in your leadership aspirations. You can also contact me to arrange more personal coaching support. Or try my podcast for your ongoing police leadership CPD covering a range of fascinating subjects.
Wonderful ♥️