Jim Gamble

James Gamble, QPM, is a retired Northern Irish police officer from Bangor in County Down, Northern Ireland.[1] He is the former chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), a police unit affiliated to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) in the United Kingdom. He resigned in October 2010 after the Home Secretary Theresa May's decision to merge CEOP with SOCA and other bodies into a new National Crime Agency. Mr Gamble wanted CEOP to remain independent.[2]

Before joining the Royal Ulster Constabulary as a constable, he served in the Royal Military Police.[3] Earlier in his career he was head of the Northern Ireland anti-terrorist intelligence unit in Belfast, then Deputy Director General (with the rank of deputy chief constable) of the National Crime Squad, which in April 2006, merged into the Serious Organised Crime Agency. He was also the head of the Belfast Region of the RUC Special Branch.[4]

Gamble led the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) fight against child sex abuse. He also presided over Operation Ore. He led the work to set up the National Crime Squad's specialist response cell – the Paedophile and Online Investigation Team (POLIT). He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in the 2008 New Year Honours.[5]

Gamble was among six candidates shortlisted to succeed Sir Hugh Orde as Police Service of Northern Ireland chief constable. The post was vacated by Orde in late 2009.[1] Also in the running were Bernard Hogan-Howe, then chief constable of Merseyside; Jon Stoddart, chief constable of Durham; Paul West, chief constable of West Mercia; and Matt Baggott, chief constable of Leicestershire who was the successful candidate.[1]

Gamble is now the CEO and one of the founding partners of the Ineqe Group. He is a frequent media commentator on issues related to protective services, best practice, the internet and child protection.[6]

Most recently he has been appointed as the independent chair of the City and Hackney Safeguarding Children Board and took up the post on 1 April 2013. In September 2016 the City & Hackney Local Safeguarding Children Board became the first in the country to receive an 'outstanding' judgement, following an Ofsted inspection.