A current nationally accredited PIP4 Senior Investigating Officer and UK DVI Senior Identification Manager. Retired Detective Superintendent and Head of Major Crime and Serious & Organised Crime Brach with over 30 years of police experience. A specialist in Homicide Investigation, Major Crime & SOC Reviews, mentoring Senior Investigators and the design & delivery of safeguarding training for public sector, private industry and military personnel, nationally and internationally.
Major Crime Investigation, Homicide Review, SIO Training & Mentoring, Strategic Ethical Decision Making and Policy Recording, Leadership Development, Design & Delivery of International Human Trafficking Prevention & Investigation, Risk Management, Safeguarding Training, Disaster Victim Identification Training, Change Management, Review and Policy Compliance.
Experience:
Over 30 years in policing, including 15 years as a Senior Investigating Officer, 8 years as Head of Major Crime and Serious & Organised Crime Branch and 2 years as the Deputy Head of Force Public Protection Units. Post Policing, owner of a Consultancy Limited Company providing review capabilities and training within England & Wales, British Overseas Territories and Asia on behalf of the UK Home Office and Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office.
Mike West is a retired Detective Superintendent with over 30 years of policing experience. For the final 8 years of his service, Mike led a UK force’s Major Crime and Serious & Organised Crime Branch, overseeing some of the most high-profile and high risk overt & covert criminal investigations involving Cat ‘A’ Homicides, Mass Fatality Events, Kidnap & Extortion crimes and misconduct in public office offences.
Mike was awarded the NPCC National SIO of the Year Award in 2021 for his ‘unwavering professionalism, dedication and commitment to delivering an outstanding service to the victims, families and communities affected by major and serious crime’ and was recognised in the 2025 New Years Honours list on being awarded the King’s Police Medal (KPM) for a ‘specially distinguished record in policing’.
Mike holds the highest investigative accreditation available to Senior Investigating Officers in the UK – PIP4 – and is a currently accredited UK DVI Senior Identification Manager in relation to mass fatality events and Disaster Victim Identification.
Mike has conducted and led reviews in relation to complex criminality nationally and internationally and has delivered formal recommendations at ministerial levels in relation to governance, process design and the management of risk.
As a Consultant, Mike has been deployed by the FCDO to several British Overseas Territories to provide training and mentoring to Senior Police Officers and SIO’s in relation to the ethical management of forensic material, high risk missing people, safeguarding children & vulnerable adults and homicide investigations.
Mike has been deployed to Vietnam by the UK Home Office to assist in the design of innovative Human Trafficking Investigation Training and to deliver strategic investigative training to the Vietnamese Military throughout 2024-2025.
Mike is now engaged in training delivery to public and private sector leaders around the management of safeguarding, ethical decision making and the prevention of harm to children, women and girls.
Mike’s approach focuses on practical and experience-based delivery. Mike believes that ethical decision making, particularly in crisis, must be informed by operational knowledge, leadership credibility and a commitment to the delivering best possible service to those who are in need.
Mike focuses on ‘winning the hearts & minds’ of those that he leads and works alongside which enables him to deliver and facilitate change to people, their mindsets and the quality of services that organisations deliver; confidence, community and pride are key drivers in ensuring sustainable performance improvement and his philosophy has been highly commended for their positive & lasting impact within the UK and overseas.
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