Formerly of Cheshire Constabulary and GMP, serving at Stockport, Manchester Airport, Longsight, Stretford, Altrincham and Sale, and retiring as Chief Inspector and Force Communications Officer in 1999.
Born 8th September 1942.
In August 1969 James joined Cheshire Constabulary and was posted to Stockport as PC 670. He also became a member of the Cheshire Constabulary brass band. On 1st April 1974 he was amalgamated into GMP as PC 6270.
On 1st August 1976 he was promoted to Sergeant and posted to Manchester Airport on ‘D’ Division, on GMP’s takeover of policing there from the Airport Police. From 1979 he served at ‘D’ Division Longsight, performing all uniformed duties on both sub-divisions and sections, and finally establishing the first divisional communications room at Longsight together with the late Inspector Ronnie Kells.
In 1987 he was promoted to Inspector and moved to ‘M’ Division as Patrol Inspector at Stretford, and soon afterwards at Altrincham and Sale in the same role. In the early 1990s he was detached to Headquarters, conducting a force-wide study and assessment of the advantages of implementing a Home Office recommendation for area control rooms.
In 1994 he transferred to ‘Y’ Department (Discipline & Complaints), until promotion in 1995 to Chief Inspector and a move to the IT Department as Force Communications Officer in charge of technical communications, before finally being fully engaged in the force project to introduce the new digital radios.
James retired at the end of August 1999.
