MVWI Meeting - July - A Talk by Chief Constable Catherine Roper

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A Talk by Catherine Roper, Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police

Having graduated Cardiff University with an LLB in Law and Politics, Catherine Roper joined the MPS in 2000, initially working in front line policing in South London, during which she was successful in The Accelerated Promotion Scheme for Graduates. Qualifying as a Detective, Catherine worked in Specialist Crime combatting human trafficking and identity fraud, before working in front line policing again upon promotion as a Sergeant and Custody Officer. As a Detective Inspector, Catherine worked in Specialist Intelligence, and then the Surveillance Command where she was responsible for 10 surveillance teams, some armed. 

She then became Detective Chief Inspector at Islington Borough, where she focussed on high volume criminality and intelligence development, before getting promoted to Detective Superintendent in the Specialist Protection command, responsible for the armed protection of Politicians and High Profile VIPs. 

She then joined Royalty protection, and as well as responsibility for the armed protection of the Royal Family, she also deployed overseas to one of the largest high risk armed overseas deployments, taking a Former Prime Minister into Gaza, where she ran the control room on the Israeli/Gaza border. Upon her promotion to Detective Chief Superintendent, Catherine returned to Islington as their first female Borough Commander, and led one of the two pilot borough mergers, combining Camden and Islington OCUs to 'CN'.

 Upon promotion to Commander, Catherine initially was responsible for Professional Standards, then Crime Prevention, Inclusion and Engagement, which included the Chief Officer lead for the MPS Volunteer Police Cadets, and in 2022 Catherine became the lead for Central Specialist Crime, leading complex, high profile and international investigations. Additionally, Catherine holds the National Child and Young Person (CYP) portfolio, and is a Post incident Manager for firearms incidents, as well as being a Strategic Firearms Commander.   In early 2023 Catherine was appointed as Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police.

 During her career, Catherine has studied for two Masters qualifications: an MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from SOAS, and an MPA in Policing Studies. Catherine is also Member of the Forward Institute; a Fellow of the Westminster Abbey Institute, and; a Graduate of the US International Visitor Leadership Programme, spending 3 weeks in the US to compare their operational and firearms risk management processes with the UK. In her spare time, 

Catherine is an Assistant District Commissioner for the Girl Guides, having launched the national Girl Guide Police Challenge Badge in 2019.

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