AFTER almost 30 distinguished years within the Force, Rob Nixon became Leicestershire Police’s Acting Chief Constable today (Monday, March 21), taking over the reigns from his predecessor Simon Cole, who had occupied the role for 12 years.
Chief Constable Rob Nixon QPM, boasts an impressive CV, and has served the entirety of his policing career, which he began in 1993, with Leicestershire Police.
He was honoured by royalty twice during his time as Deputy Chief Constable, a role he’d held since 2018.
In December 2020, he was named on the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list for the efforts he’d shown in leading Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland’s response to Covid-19.
Last December 8, he was honoured with the Queen’s Police Medal, by HRH Prince Charles.
At the ceremony, held at Windsor Castle, Prince Charles took the time to congratulate Nixon on his many years of distinguished service, and the strong leadership he displayed throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
A University of Leicester graduate, Mr Nixon started his career as a Police Constable with Leicestershire Police.
In 2000, he worked his way up to the role of Detective Inspector, in charge of the City’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID). It was a position which saw him responsible for introducing the force approach to Offender Management.
In 2008, he was appointed as the Head of the force’s Community Safety Bureau, which was responsible for the development of Strategic partnerships, implementation of neighbourhood policing, anti-social behaviour, offender management and preventing counter terrorism.
His next role, from 2009 to 2014, was as Chief Superintendent for the Leicester City Basic Command Unit, where he led local policing for the area and worked with communities during two large scale English Defence League and Unite Against Fascism demonstrations.
Mr Nixon was “instrumental in the force’s response to disorder” during August 2012, according to his Leicestershire Police profile.
Throughout 2014 and 2015, he was head of business change, a position which saw him develop Blueprint2020 – a programme designed to decide how to make significant savings and take the force into a new era of policing.
In 2015 Nixon became Temporary Assistant Chief Constable, working across Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire on collaborative projects such as the regional East Midlands Operational Support Service and East Midlands Criminal Justice Service.
He stayed in this role until April 2017, when he was appointed as the force’s Assistant Chief Constable, before being promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in February 2018.
Speaking in 2020, Mr Nixon praised his career in policing, stating that “everyday has been both a joy and a challenge.”
Upon taking up the role of Acting Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable Nixon said that he was looking forward to taking up the role, and proud to be leading Leicestershire Police’s “dedicated and talented force”.
Outside of policing, he lives in Leicestershire with his family, and is a keen pilot and skier.
He has also developed his construction skills in recent years, while renovating a derelict property.
For more information, follow Chief Constable Rob Nixon QPM, at: https://twitter.com/dccleicspolice
