He started his police career on the beat in Keswick in the early 90s and rose through the ranks to become Cumbria Constabulary’s assistant chief constable.
And in recognition of his remarkable policing career, Andy Slattery was presented with the Queen’s Medal for Distinguished Service by King Charles at an investiture held at Windsor Castle. It had been awarded to him by the Queen in the 2021 New Year’s Honours.
“It was all a very surreal experience,” said Andy, 55, who is now head of security, fire and resilience at BAE Systems in Barrow. “You go into a room with the King, on your own, and you are presented to him and he pins a medal on you and then starts asking me about my police service.
“We had a chat about the challenges around policing and he asked me if I was properly retired. I told him I was far too young to retire. He was very interested about my new role and we had a discussion about security and emergency planning and the secrets around the submarine programme and the current threats.
“He was very generous with his time and was very friendly and was interested in the two careers that I have had.”
After spending the first 18 months of his police career in Workington, Andy spent from 1993 to 1996 working the beat in Keswick. It was a time when the town had an inspector, two sergeants, 12 constables and a police clerk all working out of a police station on Bank Street, next to the magistrates’ court.
He then went to CID in Workington until 1999 and then joined the National Crime Squad before moving to Kendal in late 2001 to 2005. He then had a number of senior roles at police headquarters at Carleton Hall, Penrith, before becoming assistant chief constable from 2018 to 21.
Andy was chairman of the resilience forum and chaired the strategic emergency co-ordinating group overseeing to Covid-19 outbreak in the county.
During his career, Andy has assisted with many of the county’s most significant incidents and investigations ranging from organised crime to national disasters. He was the senior investigating officer for the Derrick Bird shootings in 2010 and for the murder of 15-year-old Jordan Watson in 2015 at Carlisle.
Andy was also the case officer for the investigation into the murder of John William Harvey whose smouldering remains were found by a passer-by behind a dry stone wall on the Kendal to Sedbergh road near the M6 Killington services. The murder inquiry took a team of 30 Cumbrian detectives to London to piece together the last days of 59-year-old Mr Harvey’s life. He was a retired fruit and veg market trader and well-known East End boxing fan who lived in Enfield.
Andy was one of the first off-duty officers on the scene of the Grayrigg rail crash and managed the reception centre at the village school and was also gold commander for a number of bad weather events in the county.
“It was a real privilege to receive the honour and for me it’s recognition of the work I did and the public facing side of policing,” said Andy, who has plans to move back to Keswick when he retires. “It is also about all the hard work of all involved during my police career. It has been a team effort.”
