Pat Gallan

Patricia Ferguson Gallan QPM, known as Pat Gallan, is a British police officer who is Assistant Commissioner Specialist Crime and Operations of the Metropolitan Police, London. She previously served as Deputy Assistant Commissioner (Specialist Operations – Security and Protection) from 2012 to 2015, Assistant Chief Constable (Operations Support) of Merseyside Police from February 2006 to 2012, and also served as temporary Deputy Chief Constable of the force from October 2009 to February 2010. She is the most senior female ethnic minority police officer in British history.

Gallan was adopted by a Church of Scotland Minister, the Reverend Alex Gallan, in Lanarkshire,Scotland, and joined the Metropolitan Police as a constable in 1987. She served in the East End of London, first as a uniformed officer and then with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

In 1997 she trained as a hostage negotiator. She is also a qualified barrister. In March 2000, as a Detective Superintendent, she was appointed head of the informant unit in the Criminal Intelligence Branch (SO11) at Scotland Yard. She then served as staff officer to Deputy Commissioner Sir Ian Blair. In January 2005, she joined the National Crime Squad as Assistant Chief Constable in charge of covert policing and served there until her appointment to Merseyside in 2006.