| Derek Penman | |
| Rank: | His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland |
| Otherwork: | Chair of the International Advisory Committee of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research |
| Awards: | King's Police Medal |
| Allegiance: | United Kingdom |
| Serviceyears: | 4 |
| Country: | Scotland |
Derek Penman, QPM, was HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland between January 2014 and March 2018.[1] [2] In his position, he was succeeded by Gill Imery, the first female in this roll.[3]
Penman joined Central Scotland Police as a cadet in 1982 rising to the rank of Chief Superintendent by 2007.[4] In 2008 he became Assistant Chief Constable (Crime and Specialist Operations) of Grampian Police. In 2011 he returned to Central as Deputy Chief Constable and was for a while Temporary Chief Constable[5] before becoming Assistant Chief Constable (local policing, north) for the new Police Scotland.[6] In 2015 he voiced his opinion as an advocate for stricter rules on stop-and-search procedures.[7] In 2017, he investigated a Scottish Police Authority officer's departure from her position, who claimed that she was being silenced.[8]
He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in the 2014 Birthday Honours.[9] In July 2021, after his retirement in 2018, he was appointed by the Irish Policing Authority to investigate computer-aided dispatch incidents that were incorrectly closed from 2019-20, providing dozens of findings and recommendations.[10] At this time, he was Chair of theInternational Advisory Committee of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research, as well as a professor at the University of Dundee.[11]