Chief officer team
Commissioner Angela McLaren
Angela McLaren is the Commissioner of the City of London Police. With the exception of the Metropolitan Police Service, all other UK police forces are led by a Chief Constable.
Angela started her career with Fife Constabulary in 1996 where she served in several operational and community roles up to the rank of Chief Inspector.
In 2013, she was appointed Project Manager for the Pathways to Policing Project at the Scottish Police College and, on promotion to Superintendent in 2014, was posted to D Division, Tayside where she held various portfolios.
In 2015, she was promoted to Chief Superintendent and appointed Divisional Commander of Fife Division where she led various operations and events. Angela was later selected to lead a team to produce the first long term strategy for policing in Scotland.
In 2018, Angela was promoted to Assistant Chief Constable responsible for Operational Change and Resilience, a portfolio which included the Digitally Enabled Policing Programme and Strategic Design Authority. In 2019, Angela became the Executive Lead for Organised Crime, Counter Terrorism and Intelligence within Police Scotland.
Angela joined the City of London Police in 2020 as Assistant Commissioner responsible for Economic Crime and Cybercrime before being appointed the City of London Police Commissioner in 2021.
Assistant Commissioner Paul Betts
Paul Betts joined the City of London Police as Assistant Commissioner for operational policing on 4 January 2022.
Paul joined the force from the Metropolitan Police Service where he was Commander and Head of Professional Standards and Recognition.
He joined the Metropolitan Police Service in June 2020 from Sussex Police where he spent over a decade in public order and public safety. Paul is particularly interested in change management and developing people.
Assistant Commissioner Peter O'Doherty
Peter O'Doherty joined the City of London Police as Assistant Commissioner responsible for fraud and cyber crime on 4 January 2022.
He joined the force from the South East Regional Crime Unit (SEROCU), the body responsible for regional crime and counter terrorism functions, where he had been Assistant Chief Constable.
Commander Umer Khan
Umer Khan joined the City of London Police as Commander for Policing Operations and Security, joining Assistant Commissioner Paul Betts.
Umer joined the force after almost 27 years with Greater Manchester Police, where he started his career aged 21 as a Police Constable. On the path to his previous role as a Chief Superintendent, Commander Khan led in a wide range of areas, from the Commercial Fraud Unit to introducing the National Reassurance Programme to Oldham, following the 2001 riots. Umer also served as Territorial Commander for the City of Manchester and led on consequence management for the Manchester Arena Terror attack in 2017.
Commander Nik Adams
Nik Adams was appointed as Commander for fraud and cyber crime in March 2022, having spent four years as the National Coordinator for Prevent and the lead for Safeguarding within Counter Terrorism Policing based at CTPHQ in New Scotland Yard.
In that role, Nik built a diverse team from across the UK; delivering the first national Prevent policy and guidance, a training programme for Prevent specialists, a national risk assessment and case management system.
Nik also developed and led the Counter Terrorism Advisory Network of around 150 people from across the UK, galvanising a diverse range of voices and including victims and survivors of terrorist attacks, to shape national policy improvements. Nik passionately believes that understanding the impact of crime on victims and involving them in shaping our response is crucial to building trust and ensuring the criminal justice system meets their needs.
Nik has been a police officer for 20 years and spent most of his service with West Yorkshire Police working in Leeds, where he was the Leeds City Centre Commander and Neighbourhood Policing lead for South Leeds, before moving into Counter Terrorism Policing.
As Commander for fraud and cyber crime at City, Nik coordinates national portfolios, including Financial Investigation, Economic and Cyber Crime.
Service Delivery Director Chris Bell
Chris Bell oversees delivery of services within the context of the National Fraud and Cyber-crime Reporting and Analytics Service. Working closely with the City of London Police force executive and heads of operations to run the existing service, he also leads on the design, procurement, implementation and delivery of the next generation national service to victims of Economic Crime.
Chris' day to day responsibility include the contract and commercial management of the service and all aspects of its supply chain.
Chief Operating Officer Mari Ladu
Mari Ladu joined the City of London Police as Chief Operating Officer on 15 August 2022.
Mari started her career in the private sector, working for large international organisations such as the Financial Times and Air France. She moved into the public sector in 2013 where she worked as a senior consultant in local government for several years. More recently, Mari worked for both the NHS and as part of an executive team in the independent healthcare sector.
Mari specialises in leading and transforming corporate services and is passionate about developing people and improving processes and services to provide better outcomes for the public.