Chief Constable recognised in New Year Honours List

Humberside Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside are pleased to announce that Chief Constable Lee Freeman has been awarded the King’s Police Medal for services to policing in the New Year Honours List 2023.

“I am delighted to be included in the New Year Honours List for 2023 , knowing that this recognition is a direct reflection of the support, dedication and hard work of all my colleagues who serve with me in Humberside Police. I thank them for their continued support”

Chief Constable Lee Freeman has been a police officer for 29 years, serving in 4 forces, before his appointment as Chief Constable for Humberside in May 2017.

Lee Freeman was born and raised in Grimsby, attending Humberston School and Lindsey Sixth Form, before attending Kingston University, where he received a BSc (Hons) in Sociology.

During his tenure as Chief, Humberside Police has transformed from being in ‘special measures’, to being graded as one of the top performing forces in the country.

This year, Humberside Police were independently recognised as ‘Outstanding’ by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary & Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) across several areas of our latest inspection.

This currently remains the strongest set of inspection results awarded, and Chief Constable Freeman maintains that “this is testament to the bravery and determination of all my officers and staff to serve our local communities and to demonstrate through the actions we take, that our communities can rely on us to protect them”

In January 2019, Lee was approached by national policing to temporarily lead Cleveland Police as their interim Chief Constable, following the unexpected departure of their Chief Constable. After making it clear that he would be returning to Humberside, he did so 5 months later and has continued leading Humberside Police since.

Lee has held a number of National Police Chief Council (NPCC) portfolios, including Anti-Social Behaviour, Records Management and currently as a Director of Bluelight Commercial Ltd, the NPCC Lead for HMICFRS and a member of the national management committee of Police Sport UK.

A keen sportsman, Lee also chairs both the British Police Cricket and British Police Golf sections.

Police & Crime Commissioner Jonathan Evison said of the award,

“I'd like to congratulate Chief Constable Freeman on this award, it is great recognition of his leadership of Humberside Police during an unprecedented journey of improvement since he took over the force.

“I have known Lee for many years, first in my role as Chair of the Humberside Police and Crime Panel and more recently as Police and Crime Commissioner. He has always impressed me with his determination to strive for outstanding performance and maintain close relationships with all employees of the force, which has led to one of the highest morale surveys conducted by the Police Federation and the recent outstanding review by His Majesty's Inspectorate.

“Lee has created a tangible "Humberside factor" in policing where the force is now recognised as an exemplar in many areas and other police forces across the country look to us for good practice.

“Raised in Grimsby, Lee has a strong sense of what is needed in our area to serve and protect the public, and despite the improvements in recent years under his leadership, he is always seeking the next level of achievement.”