a. ^ As First Deputy Director-General for Capabilities. b. ^ As Second Deputy Director-General for Operations.
Dame Lynne Gillian Owens, DCB, CBE, QPM, DL (born 29 January 1969) is a senior police officer in the United Kingdom. She was made interim Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service in September 2022[1] before being confirmed as that role's permanent holder in February 2023,[2] the first-ever such female holder (Helen Ball previously held it on an acting basis in 2021-2022).
Owens began her policing career when she joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1989. As a Constable, she was based in Catford, London.[6] On promotion to Sergeant, she transferred to Kent Police and began training to become a detective.[7] In the rank of Detective Chief Inspector, she became a senior investigating officer with the force's major crime department.[7][8]
In 2002, Owens transferred to Surrey Police.[8] She was appointed Divisional Commander of North Surrey in May 2003.[citation needed] In January 2005, she was promoted to temporaryassistant chief constable responsible for specialist operations.[7] This was her first experience of a chief officer rank. She qualified as a Gold firearms Commander during that appointment.[9] Having completed the Strategic Command Course run by the National Policing Improvement Agency, she was made assistant chief constable responsible for territorial operations.[9] She became the youngest person to hold the rank of deputy chief constable when she was appointed to the rank temporarily in March 2008.[7] During that appointment, she headed an organisational change programme.[7]
In December 2011, Owens was selected to become the next Chief Constable of Surrey Police.[8] She took up the appointment in February 2012, becoming the first woman to head the force.[12] In December 2012, her contract was extended until November 2017 by Kevin Hurley, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey Police.[12] However, in a meeting in September 2015, Hurley revealed he had been considering her dismissal for a "failure of leadership" in relation to concerns about her record on child protection.[13]
NCA and Deputy Commissioner
On 26 November 2015 it was announced that Owens would be the next head of the National Crime Agency. She replaced the outgoing Director-General and former Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police, Keith Bristow QPM, in January 2016.[14] Upon taking up the appointment, she became the then most senior woman in British law enforcement.[15] In September 2021 she announced that she would be retiring afrom that role on medical grounds.[16] She was succeeded by Graeme Biggar on an interim basis.[17]
She did not apply to succeed Cressida Dick as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police,[18] but in August 2022 Mark Rowley announced Owens would return to the Metropolitan Police on 12 September that year, holding a six-month post as Interim Deputy Commissioner whilst a permanent holder of that post was recruited at the start of Rowley's own commissionership.[1] Her confirmation as the permanent holder of that role was announced on 20 February 2023.[19]
^ ab'OWENS, Lynne Gillian', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 accessed 4 Nov 2017
