Chief Constable Rob Carden Honoured with King’s Police Medal
Following the announcement of the King’s New Year’s Honours we are delighted to confirm that Chief Constable Rob Carden has been awarded the King’s Police Medal (KPM).
Rob became Chief Constable of Merseyside Police in September this year after joining the force from Cumbria Police where he was the Chief Constable from August 2023. Rob left Merseyside Police as an Assistant Chief Constable in 2022 to join Cumbria Police on promotion as Deputy Chief Constable.
Rob joined the police service in 1992 when he joined Merseyside Police after graduating with an Economics degree and joining the Graduate Management Scheme at GEC Plessey Telecommunications, where he worked for two years in procurement at the company's Edge Lane site in Liverpool.
He is committed to providing the public of Merseyside with a professional and effective policing service that puts our communities at the heart of everything it does.
The KPM recognises his unwavering commitment to policing, both regionally and nationally, throughout his career.
The citation highlights the major impact he has had on “policing regionally and nationally, by bringing forces together through collaborative digital programs. He has been at the forefront of innovation for the service and is widely acknowledged by peers as being the driving force and accelerant, behind recent progress in this area".
He led the Tri-Force Collaboration Programme involving Merseyside, North Wales and Cheshire aimed at delivering a shared Niche platform as an enabler for operational collaboration. As part of this work, he was awarded £2.24m of police innovation funding and recognised by the Home Office for delivering one of the first technically enabled operational collaborations in the country. This not only delivered cashable savings across three forces, but allowed for critical operational join-up that helped keep the public safe and tackled regional organised criminality. Rob’s work ensured cross-border loopholes, that criminals routinely exploited, were closed.
As the NPCC lead for Digital Data and Technology, he:
Developed the NPCC National Data and Analytics Office to ensure policing is data driven and can support a national performance framework; enabling cutting-edge analytics to tackle serious crime such as human trafficking and child sexual abuse.
Developed a National Prioritisation Model for police IT so that funding is focused on technologies capable of having the greatest impact on public safety
Introduced a National IT Service Board to drive the performance and value for money of 40 national systems at a cost of £200m annually
Chaired the national Portfolio Assurance Group, driving delivery from the £450m of public money spent annually on developing new digital capability for policing
Refreshed the National Policing Digital Strategy 2030, giving national policing and local forces clear direction for the next five years on how to use digital capabilities to deliver public safety and confidence in policing
During his career Rob “distinguished himself as a capable and experienced operation leader throughout his service including Gold Command for the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, the largest security operation hosted in Merseyside and Gold Command for the Grand National on four occasions. Rob has also been a national cadre Counter Terrorism Commander and was the Strategic Firearms Commander for the high-threat policing operation that followed the terrorist incident at the Women’s Hospital in Liverpool in November 2021.
As Gold Commander for the repatriation of British nationals from Wuhan Province, China, to Arrowe Park Hospital, Merseyside, at the start of the Covid--19 pandemic, Rob led the first national operation of its kind and helped to shape the national policing response to Covid-19. He went on to manage Merseyside’s response to all phases of the Covid pandemic. For his outstanding leadership on behalf of the police service he subsequently received a national commendation for his overall contribution to policing’s response to Covid”.
Rob joined Cumbria Constabulary in 2022 where he led a programme of change incorporating a full restructure of the force. As Chief Constable of Cumbria the citation cites that Rob:
Created a performance culture centred around making Cumbria safer and building public confidence
Took the force from a positive outcome rate of all crime of 14% to 21% (now one of the highest nationally). Increased positive outcome rates for rape, sexual offences and domestic abuse which disproportionately affect women and girls
Increased stop-searches in Cumbria by 292%
Reduced ASB by more than 50%, reduced burglary by 26% and robbery by 10%
Secured one of the strongest HMICFRS PEEL assessments nationally. Including being the only force to obtain `Outstanding’ in `Building, supporting and protecting the workforce’ and the only force to achieve `Good’ in Investigating Crime. Other forces are now consulting Cumbria Constabulary about how they can improve
Delivered an annual `Chief’s Promise’ to officers and staff which include a fairer promotion process to assist those with autism. Was instrumental in the provision of specialist trauma treatments in force, increased wellbeing breaks, women only leadership events and creation of new gyms
Refreshed the force’s crime allocation matrix to ensure high harm offences were investigated by specialist detectives and victims received the service they deserved
Chief Constable Carden, said: "This award is humbling and deeply appreciated. It is a proud moment for my family, who have shared the sacrifices that come with policing, and I see it as recognition of the teamwork and professionalism of those who have worked with me and supported me.”
Merseyside Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell said: “My warmest congratulations go to Rob on receiving this prestigious and well‑deserved King’s Police Medal.
“Rob has dedicated more than three decades to policing, much of it here in Merseyside. Having risen through the ranks locally, he brings invaluable experience and a genuine passion for serving the people of this region.
“This honour reflects the exceptional contribution Rob has made not just to Merseyside, but to policing nationally. His leadership on digital transformation has driven major improvements across forces, strengthening collaboration, and ensuring policing is better equipped to tackle the challenges of a modern, digital world. His operational command has also been impressive – from managing complex national security events to steering Merseyside’s response to the Covid‑19 pandemic. Rob’s commitment, innovation and calm leadership have consistently made a real difference to public safety.
“This honour is a fitting recognition of Rob’s hard work and dedication, and I would like to thank him personally for all he has done, and will continue to do, for Merseyside.”