Former PSNI Deputy Chief Constable loses cancer battle

PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Colin Cramphorn has lost his battle with cancer.

Mr Cramphorn, 50, was acting Chief Constable of the PSNI prior to being appointed as Chief Constable of West Yorkshire.

He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004.

In a statement the Police Service of Northern Ireland said: "The contribution by Colin Cramphorn to the history and development of policing in Northern Ireland can never, nor should ever, be understated.

"The successful evolution of the Police Service of Northern Ireland as a professional policing organisation, which is regarded highly both at home and abroad, is in no small measure due to his dedication, drive and unassuming but effective commitment.

"First as Deputy Chief Constable of the RUC, and then as acting Chief Constable of the fledgling Police Service of Northern Ireland, he oversaw the introduction of the new policing arrangements in the period prior to the appointment of the current Chief Constable, Sir Hugh Orde.

"His ultimate and unswerving professional loyalty was to policing in general, and to policing in Northern Ireland in particular. In the highly sensitive and often politically charged atmosphere which prevailed following the Patten report, he recognised the importance of building on the solid foundations of the past in order to create a new service of which every citizen could, and should, be proud. In that he succeeded."

Appointed Deputy Chief Constable to Sir Ronnie Flanagan, in September, 1998, he was acting Chief Constable from April 2001 to August of that year.

He decided not to enter the competition for the post of Chief Constable of the PSNI.

(SP/EF)