Suzette Davenport Explained

Suzette Davenport
Birth Name:Suzette Louise Davenport
Nationality:British
Occupation:Police officer

Suzette Louise Davenport (born January 1963) is a retired British police officer who is the former chief constable of Gloucestershire Constabulary. She was appointed in 2013, becoming the first woman to serve in the role; prior to this, she had held various other policing roles. She retired in 2017, having served thirty years as a police officer.

Life and career

Suzette Louise Davenport was born in January 1963.[1] Though Davenport is from North Yorkshire, she started her policing career with West Mercia Police. She went on to work in several police roles for different forces;[2] [3] by 2002, she was working for Staffordshire Police.[4] [5] She moved to work for the Home Office briefly in 2005; she then returned to Staffordshire Police, to the role of assistant chief constable.[3] At one point during her career with the Staffordshire force, she held the "crime and diversity" portfolio.[6] In 2007, Davenport moved to West Midlands Police, where she was responsible for "intelligence and neighbourhood policing".[2]

In 2011, while Davenport was deputy chief constable with Northamptonshire Police, the Independent Police Complaints Commission launched an enquiry into the conduct of four Staffordshire officers in 2002, including Davenport, in connection with the murder of amateur footballer, Kevin Nunes. Five people were convicted of the murder of Nunes in 2008; the convicted individuals lodged an appeal with the Court of Appeal,[7] and their convictions were quashed in 2012.[8] The IPCC cleared the officers, including Davenport, of misconduct in 2016;[9] Davenport said she was "pleased and relieved" that the case into her had concluded.[4] [10]

Prior to 2013, Davenport was the vice-president of the British Association for Women in Policing for eight years.[11] In addition, she was appointed as the national lead for roads policing for the Association of Chief Police Officers in 2011,[12] a role she held until retirement.[3]

In 2013, she became the first female chief constable of Gloucestershire Constabulary.[13] As of 2016, Davenport sat on the board of the College of Policing.[14] While in the role, it was reported that she had ordered officers in her force to trim or cover beards, along with a ban on visible tattoos and inappropriate makeup,[15] with the BBC's Newsbeat reporting that beard nets would be permitted as an alternative.[16] Davenport retired in 2017, after thirty years as a police officer.[17]

Honours and recognition

Davenport was ranked at number 79 in The Independent on Sunday's 2014 Rainbow List of influential LGBT people, having come out as a lesbian at Pride in Gloucestershire earlier in that year.[18] She was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in 2016,[3] as well as an honorary doctorate by the University of Gloucestershire.[19] [20]

Davenport was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to road safety as chair of the National Driver Offending Retraining Scheme.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Suzette Louise Davenport. Companies House. 28 March 2020.
  2. Web site: County's first woman police chief who smashed the glass ceiling. Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire. 30 January 2017. 1 April 2020.
  3. Web site: Chief constable to retire in April. 26 December 2017. 26 December 2017. BBC News. https://web.archive.org/web/20170310201838/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-38799275. 10 March 2017. live.
  4. News: Gloucestershire Police chief constable Suzette Davenport cleared of misconduct following murder investigation probe. Gazette. 10 March 2016. 1 April 2020. . Newsquest.
  5. News: Kevin Nunes investigation: Watchdog report finds senior officers 'failed in their duties' but none face action. Express & Star. Golledge. Rob. 4 October 2017. 1 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20180212235826/https://www.expressandstar.com/news/crime/2017/10/04/kevin-nunes-watchdog-report-finds-senior-officers-failed-in-their-duties-but-none-will-be-held-accountable-for-scandal/. 12 February 2018. live.
  6. Web site: Suzette Davenport - College of Policing. College of Policing. 26 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171227121911/http://www.college.police.uk/About/Governance/Board/Pages/davenport.aspx. 27 December 2017. dead.
  7. News: Police chiefs in misconduct probe over Kevin Nunes murder. BBC News. 23 December 2011. . 1 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200129043450/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-16311557. 29 January 2020. live.
  8. News: Kevin Nunes killing: Five cleared at appeal court. BBC News. 8 March 2012. 1 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20180222043450/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17304165. 22 February 2018. live.
  9. News: Police cleared on Kevin Nunes gangland murder probe: Express & Star investigates. . Express & Star. 11 March 2016. 1 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20180510020425/https://www.expressandstar.com/news/crime/2016/03/11/kevin-nunes-gangland-murder-painful-wait-for-truths/. 10 May 2018. live.
  10. News: Kevin Nunes gangland murder: Inquiry into police officers 'right but costly', says cleared Staffordshire Police chief. 11 March 2016. . 1 April 2020. Express & Star. https://web.archive.org/web/20160403075829/http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2016/03/11/kevin-nunes-gangland-murder-inquiry-into-police-officers-right-but-costly-says-cleared-staffordshire-police-chief/. 3 April 2016. live.
  11. News: BBC News. . Suzette Davenport is Chief Constable of Gloucestershire Police. 9 January 2013. 1 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20181128081149/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-20950754. 28 November 2018. live.
  12. Web site: Suzette Davenport. National Road Safety Conference. 28 March 2020.
  13. News: ITV News. Gloucestershire's new police chief. 9 January 2013. 28 March 2020. . https://web.archive.org/web/20170815112912/http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2013-01-09/gloucestershires-new-police-chief/. 15 August 2017. live.
  14. Web site: Queen's Birthday Honours for College staff. College of Policing. June 2016. 1 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20181104142708/http://www.college.police.uk/News/archive/June_2016/Pages/Queen%E2%80%99s_Birthday_Honours.aspx. 4 November 2018. live.
  15. News: Hairy police officers kick up a right fuzz. Belfast Telegraph. McNeilly. Claire. 4 August 2015. 1 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20160103121040/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/hairy-police-officers-kick-up-a-right-fuzz-31427828.html. 3 January 2016. live.
  16. News: Newsbeat. 27 July 2015. Police aren't happy over proposed beard-nets. 1 April 2020. . https://web.archive.org/web/20190724235124/http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/33674959/police-arent-happy-over-proposed-beard-nets. 24 July 2019. live.
  17. Web site: Chief Constable Suzette Davenport announces retirement. Gloucestershire Constabulary. 26 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171226234418/https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/news-room/latest-news/chief-constable-suzette-davenport-announces-retirement/. 26 December 2017. dead.
  18. News: Rainbow List 2014, 1 to 101 . 9 November 2014 . 29 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150503134543/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/therainbowlist/rainbow-list-2014-1-to-100-9848457.html . 3 May 2015 . live . The Independent on Sunday.
  19. News: Gloucester Review. . 8 September 2016. 28 March 2020. Honorary doctorate for chief constable.
  20. Web site: University of Gloucestershire. Chief Constable receives Honorary Award. 4 November 2016. 28 March 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20190427014546/http://www.glos.ac.uk/news/Pages/chief-constable-receives-honorary-award.aspx. 27 April 2019. live.

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