Queen’s Police Medal for top cop John

Jul 2 2009 by Shirley Bartynek, Hamilton Advertiser

A FORMER top cop in Hamilton has been awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in this year’s Birthday Honours List.

Strathclyde Police’s Assistant Chief Constable (Territorial Policing) John Neilson was “absolutely delighted” to receive the prestigious award.

The QPM is awarded to police officers in the UK for gallantry or distinguished service. Mr Neilson, who was the former deputy divisional commander in South Lanarkshire between 1998 and 2002, described his medal as a “public recognition”.

He explained: “I would not have been able to achieve such an award had it not been for the support of my officers and the support of local communities who I have worked with over the years. It really is a great national recognition.”

Mr Neilson, who previously lived in Hamilton but now lives in Ayrshire with his wife Helen and four children, was appointed to his new post in October of last year.

He has strategic responsibility for Territorial Policing and has national duties and responsibilities in relation to football and sectarianism.

He chairs the Force Tactical Tasking and Coordination Group, Football Monitoring Group and Divisional Commanders’ meeting.

He said: “I oversee at the moment forward-facing policing. This role is much more hands-on than my previous community safety role. I’m dealing directly with football matches and missing person reports.”

Previous to this, he had been Assistant Chief Constable (Community Safety), a role he had held since May 2005. During this time, Mr Neilson was directly involved in dealing with the aftermath of the Glasgow Airport attack in June 2007.

He added: “After the airport attack, I was very much involved in the operational policing set up to work with the ethnic minority communities within the area.”

Before his appointment to Assistant Chief Constable in May 2005, he had a one-year spell as divisional commander at North Lanarkhire Division in Motherwell.

His career began as a cadet in 1975 and he became a police constable in 1977. He has fulfilled a wide variety of posts over the past 30 years.

ACC Neilson served as a police constable in Wishaw, Craigneuk and Shotts.

After rising through the ranks, he was promoted to the rank of superintendent based in Hamilton in 1998.

In 2002, he was appointed to deputy divisional commander at South Lanarkshire Division.

Mr Neilson said: “In my time in South Lanarkshire, the most serious incident was the Larkhall gas blast which wiped out a young family and had a major impact on people in Larkhall. Dealing with the community where there was personal accountability and where people knew me and my family was a major challenge.”

In 2004, he was promoted to Chief Superintendent of North Lanarkshire Division.

Born and brought up in Hamilton, Mr Neilson attended the town’s St Mary’s Primary and Holy Cross High School.