Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Green has been announced as new head of NW Regional Organised Crime Unit

The North West Regional Organised Crime Unit is set to welcome its new Assistant Chief Constable.

Chief Superintendent Chris Green will take over the reins for the ROCU with immediate effect from today (Friday, 17 April). He was interviewed for the post after successfully completing the national Strategic Command Course, which is an intensive three months course for those wishing to become Chief Officers.

Chris, who has been temporary in the position, is looking forward to taking on the substantive role. He joined Merseyside Police in 1993 at the age of 25 and was posted as a Constable to patrol duties in Knowsley and St Helens before moving in to CID just over three years later.

Chris has served at every rank in the CID and started as a detective at Huyton police station in 1995. In 2001 Chris moved to the Force Major Incident Team when it was set up at Stanley Road and during his time there he was involved in investigating the double murder of Mark Thompson and George Price. Ten months later he returned to Knowsley as a Detective Sergeant and worked on Operation Arizona targeting organised criminals.

In 2008 he was promoted to Detective Inspector at the gun crime team in Knowsley and a year later he became DCI in what was then Liverpool North, which covered the city centre, Walton, Anfield, Norris Green, Croxteth and Fazakerley.

Between 2011 and 2013 Chris became staff officer to the then Chief Constable Jon Murphy.

In 2013 Chris was promoted to Detective Superintendent and had responsibility for covert policing at Matrix and lead on the work for Operation Camaro targeting organised criminals in Toxteth and the south of the city. That operation resulted in 45 people being sentenced to more than 241 years in prison. During the operation officers recovered six firearms (including two machine pistols) and drugs including heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis with a total estimated street value of £3m (Class A drugs worth £2m and Class B drugs worth £1m).

Between 2015 and 2016 Chris was the Detective Superintendent in charge of Protecting Vulnerable People before being promoted to Detective Chief Superintendent at the North West ROCU. He was there until 2017 when he returned to Merseyside Police as head of Investigations in charge of more than 1000 detectives, uniformed officers and support staff. During his time as head of investigations Chris oversaw the introduction of Operation Castle which has led to significant decreases in burglary and also saw an increase in the number of offenders brought to justice. He was able to ensure that the Force maintained its outstanding grade from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Crime for Serious Organised Crime. He was also instrumental in setting up links with Everton in the Community and Liverpool Foundation in relation to giving young people hope and aspiration and diverting them away from becoming involved in organised crime.

Chris, who is married and has two sons, said: “I am incredibly proud and delighted to have been appointed and I am looking forward to building on the strong foundations that the ROCU has working closely with each of the six forces across the North West in reducing the threat that organised crime poses to our communities.

“I joined the police service 26 years ago after doing a BA Honours Degree in Geography at Liverpool University. When I finished university I realised I wanted a career where I could go home at night and know that I had made a positive difference. I realised that policing could offer me that sense of job satisfaction and give me the ability to help people and do the right thing.

“I can honestly say that I have loved every minute of my career so far and I still have that same sense of job satisfaction and I am now in a position where I can influence and lead others to do exactly the same and make our communities safer.”

He added: “I’m really looking forward to the months ahead. Last year I was given a fantastic opportunity when I was chosen to represent UK policing at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. I spent three months with a cohort of officers from across the globe looking at executive leadership, the effects and impact of international criminality and some of the most up-to-date cutting edge technology and law enforcement tools for tackling a whole range of criminality. I will undoubtedly be able to bring some of that learning to my new role to the benefit of the officers and staff who work for the NW ROCU, but most importantly for communities across the North West.”

Chief Constable Andy Cooke, who confirmed the appointment today, said: “I’m delighted to announce that Chris has been appointed as the new head of the NW ROCU, he is a seasoned and experienced detective who has showcased his leadership capabilities over a number of years. His leadership style is inclusive and he has a natural ability to lead, he will be a real asset in the role.”