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John Paterson was appointed to HMICS as a Lead Inspector in August 2024.
John has extensive policing experience having joined Strathclyde Police in 1995 and undertaken a wide range of operational and specialist roles throughout his police career, including secondments to the Scottish Crime & Drug Enforcement Agency and CT Policing, where he worked with UK police forces, law enforcement and intelligence agencies, the Scottish and UK governments to develop national strategies to tackle organised crime and terrorism. John was also awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, studying youth crime, gang violence and criminal justice policy at Harvard University.
John spent a significant period of his police career working in the fields of anti-corruption and professional standards. In addition to having oversight of all criminal and conduct investigations involving police officers, John led several reviews of national legislation and operational practice to tackle corruption across law enforcement and justice agencies, as well as wider public and private sector bodies – making far reaching proposals for change and enhancing anti-corruption and professional standards practice, training and awareness across all sectors.
When Detective Superintendent, Head of Strategic Partnerships, John led a national programme to embed new legislation and criminal justice measures to support vulnerable victims and witnesses; he was also the portfolio lead for drug policy, mental health, suicide prevention, cyber prevention and awareness, children and young people and business crime.
On promotion to Chief Superintendent in 2018, John was appointed Head of Governance, Audit & Assurance, and given responsibility for Police Scotland’s corporate governance and strategic engagement frameworks, risk management function, audit, assurance and inspection teams, information management, data protection reform and national policy unit.
Whilst Chief Superintendent, John also served as Local Policing Commander for Argyll & West Dunbartonshire, having responsibility for the delivery of policing services across a territorial division covering almost 3000 square miles with a rich mix of urban, rural and island communities. A highly experienced specialist gold commander, John was also the lead strategic firearms planner and commander for CoP26 during this period.
In 2021, John was appointed Head of Professional Standards, leading the department through a period of significant change and re-structuring. In 2022, he was successful in the Senior Police National Assessment Centre and thereafter attended the National Police Chiefs Council Strategic Command Course.
In 2023, John played a significant role in re-shaping Police Scotland’s resource prioritisation and service delivery models following a reduction in police officers and staff across the Force, creating a more collaborative and agile approach to dealing with resource planning and governance. Later that year John was appointed Head of Specialist Services, the lead officer for armed policing, public order, CBRN, air support, marine, dive and dog units; he was also Police Scotland’s representative at the UK Joint Operations and Protective Security Groups.
As a consequence of his wide-ranging career in policing, and as a senior public sector leader, John has extensive experience of working collaboratively with government departments, police forces, law enforcement and other public and private sector partners across the UK.