Peter Belson

Peter Belson joined Norfolk Constabulary in 1972 at the age of 16 as a cadet. He was a police officer for 32 years until retiring as a Superintendent in October 2004.

He spent his last six years of service as Head of the PFI Department before returning as a civilian. He is in fact the only civilian head of department who has also had a police career.

His major achievement has been the planning and building of the Constabulary's police headquarters at the Operations and Communications Centre in Wymondham. This was a major project and he was on site daily during the building process, ultimately being presented by the contractors and laying the date stone in November 2001.

Peter Belson's  wife used to be a police officer too, and in 1979 they gained national fame as the first-ever married traffic crew in the country. Peter said: "It meant that we got into the habit of making a sharp distinction between home and work, which still carries on today!"

Apart from his role in traffic, Peter has also worked in Community Relations (which at the time included being the Constabulary Press Officer), Prosecutions (now known as Administration of Justice), Corporate Support and Complaints and Discipline (now known as Professional Standards). He was also a trained hostage negotiator.