[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"stats-overview":3,"force-leaders-bedfordshire-police":10,"force-bedfordshire-police":18},{"officers":4,"forces":5,"courts":6,"prisons":7,"hearings":8,"legals":9},769,50,85,120,41,11437,{"force":11,"currentHead":15,"formerHeads":16,"pcc":15,"hasData":17},{"id":12,"name":13,"slug":14},"19","Bedfordshire Police","bedfordshire-police",null,[],false,{"id":12,"pnc":19,"radiocode":20,"image":21,"name":13,"slug":14,"wdtk_slug":22,"website":23,"twitter":15,"facebook":15,"linkedin":15,"borough":15,"description":24,"officer_total":25,"budget":26,"area_size":27,"established_at":28,"pcc_email":29,"foi_email":15,"email":15,"pfq":15,"pfa":15,"city_id":30,"county_id":31,"comp_info":15,"comp_addr":15,"comp_form":15,"comp_email":15,"comp_phone":15,"comp_link":32,"source":15,"created_at":33,"updated_at":34,"officers":35},"40","VA","bedfordshire-police-hq.jpg","bedfordshire_police","www.bedfordshire.police.uk","Bedfordshire Police, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire in England, which includes the unitary authorities of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton. Its headquarters are in Kempston, Bedfordshire.","1300","122500","1024","1966","pcc@bedfordshire.pnn.police.uk",0,152,"https:\u002F\u002Fbeta.beds.police.uk\u002Ffo\u002Ffeedback\u002Fcomplaints\u002Fcomplaints\u002Fmake-complaint-about-police\u002F","2021-10-16T16:32:13.000Z","2026-06-18T01:44:35.000Z",[36,61,78,88,97,104,110,117,123,129],{"id":37,"urn_id":38,"force_id":12,"station_id":39,"position_old":40,"position_id":41,"position_abbr":42,"title":43,"first_name":44,"middle_name":15,"last_name":45,"race":15,"user_id":46,"record_id":15,"status":46,"date_of_birth":15,"dob_year":15,"dob_month":47,"dob_day":48,"image":49,"description":50,"city_id":51,"source":15,"need_correction":30,"county_id":52,"country_id":53,"website":15,"is_claimed":15,"created_at":54,"updated_at":55,"facebook":15,"twitter":56,"linkedin":15,"youtube":57,"item_average_rating":15,"collar_number":15,"phone":15,"age":15,"annual_salary":58,"email":15,"gender":15,"hired_day":15,"hired_month":15,"hired_year":15,"hired_date":59,"hourly_rate":15,"job_status":60,"compid":15,"populargoogledq":15},"32","3219","0","Chief Constable","17","CC","Garry Forsyth","Garry","Forsyth","1",11,30,"","I joined Northamptonshire police in 1994 and was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 1997 performing a variety of roles at this rank. On promotion to Inspector with seven years service I assumed the role of Sector Commander and then Detective Inspector being the Senior Investigating Officer for a range of complex and interesting cases.\r\n\r\nOn promotion to Chief Inspector I undertook the role of Detective Chief Inspector followed by Chief Inspector of Operations in Northampton where I implemented the Operational Performance Group which was the central tenet of the force restructure.\r\n\r\nIn 2005 I joined Leicestershire Constabulary as Superintendent of the Operations Support Department attaining the rank of Chief Superintendent in 2006 and head of this department. In 2007 I was appointed Basic Command Unit Commander for South Leicestershire and was supported by over 400 staff in delivering all aspects of policing to the community.\r\n\r\nHaving successfully attended the Senior Police National Assessment Centre and having passed the Strategic Command Course in 2010 I was seconded to the Metropolitan Police Service as change manager on the Territorial Policing Development Programme before joining West Midlands Police in January 2011 as an Assistant Chief Constable.\r\n\r\nIn West Midlands Police I was the Geographic Policing lead for Birmingham and through my time there I held the portfolios of Crime and Intelligence, Local Policing and Contact, and Operations and Criminal Justice.\r\n\r\nIn 2015 I was appointed DCC in Humberside where I also served as temporary Chief Constable 4 months in 2017 prior to transferring to Bedfordshire as DCC before being appointed Chief Constable in July 2019.\r\n\r\nI am the the NPCC lead for Race, Religion and Belief portfolio. In my spare time enjoy golf, my dogs and my family.","53829","152","101","2021-10-17T12:20:41.000Z","2022-02-16T02:24:46.000Z","ccgarryforsyth","YsQqV3fXpQM","137133","1994-06-14","active",{"id":62,"urn_id":63,"force_id":12,"station_id":39,"position_old":64,"position_id":65,"position_abbr":66,"title":67,"first_name":68,"middle_name":15,"last_name":69,"race":15,"user_id":46,"record_id":15,"status":46,"date_of_birth":70,"dob_year":71,"dob_month":72,"dob_day":72,"image":49,"description":73,"city_id":15,"source":15,"need_correction":30,"county_id":15,"country_id":53,"website":15,"is_claimed":15,"created_at":74,"updated_at":55,"facebook":15,"twitter":15,"linkedin":15,"youtube":75,"item_average_rating":15,"collar_number":15,"phone":15,"age":15,"annual_salary":15,"email":15,"gender":76,"hired_day":15,"hired_month":15,"hired_year":15,"hired_date":15,"hourly_rate":15,"job_status":77,"compid":15,"populargoogledq":15},"225","22519","Detective Constable","7","DC","Gareth Suffling","Gareth","Suffling","1982-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",1982,1,"Channel 4 show 24 Hours in Police Custody caught more than it expected when it emerged that a police officer blackmailed a man after photographing him visiting a sex worker.\r\n\r\nGareth Suffling, 36, from Luton, was a detective constable at Bedfordshire Police when he demanded the victim pay £1,000 or pictures he took would be sent to family members and neighbours.\r\n\r\nOfficers found the blackmail letter on Suffling's computer after he failed to fully delete it.\r\n\r\nBut what happened to Suffling after he was arrested?\r\n\r\n\r\nSuffling parked near the place of work of a sex worker in Luton and took photos of a man arriving and leaving.\r\n\r\nThe police officer put the victim's car registration plate through the police computer to track down where he lived and blackmailed him - leaving a note and copy of the photographs.\r\n\r\nThe note read: \"You have made an error in judgment. A massive error in judgment.\r\n\r\n\"The next step is for you to decide. Do you really want the people closest to you to know about this? You made a bad decision and put your perversions above your family. You WILL pay £1,000 today.\"\r\n\r\nThe note included instructions for a drop-off point to deliver the money. It demanded that the victim put £1,000 in a lay-by by 1pm that day.\r\n\r\nWhen police are made aware of the blackmail attempt, the Major Crime Unit is brought in to oversee the investigation.\r\nRead More\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe victim offered his own funds to plant at the drop-off point to catch the suspect.\r\n\r\nPolice investigate to see if the victim was set up - so a sex worker, a woman known as 'Kirie', is interviewed.\r\n\r\nPolice were satisfied that she had nothing to do with the blackmail.\r\n\r\nOfficers discover that someone had performed a traceable online search on the victim.\r\n\r\nThe person who conducted the search was found to be a CID detective from the Bedfordshire Police Serious Organised Crime Unit by the name of Gareth Suffling.\r\n\r\nThe investigating team found that he is on the surveillance team monitoring the drop off area for the £1,000. He was policing his own crime.\r\nArrested and searched\r\nSuffling was arrested by one of his own colleagues\r\n\r\nSuffling is arrested at his surveillance station screen, where the Major Crime Unit's DS Mark Devine comes to arrest him.\r\n\r\nThe 36-year-old was taken to a police station in Cambridgeshire, away from his home turf.\r\n\r\nHis house was searched, where officers found a torn up draft of the blackmail letter, with copies of the photos he had sent with the letter. Paperwork showed that he was in financial difficulty.\r\n\r\nCCTV footage of the car park where Kirie was working shows Suffling walking past the gates - waiting for a suitable victim.\r\n\r\nSuffling writes a confession - revealing that he acted alone and wanted to help a vulnerable prostitute get on a drug referral scheme.\r\n\r\nHe claims he researched this on his phone.\r\n\r\nBut officers found that he did not search this, but typed in 'How to Make Crime Pay' and 'Five Best Paying Illegal Jobs'.\r\n\r\n\r\nSuffling was originally sentenced to 18 months in prison for blackmail and misconduct in public office at St Albans Crown Court in September.\r\n\r\nHe will now serve three years in prison after his sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient in November.\r\n\r\nThe Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP, who referred the case, said: \"Suffling was in a position of trust when he carried out these offences and his letter of blackmail was nothing short of menacing.\r\n\r\n\"This increased prison sentence shows that anyone caught using their position in public office to commit a crime will be punished.\"","2021-11-26T08:39:30.000Z","YFTJTDlsibQ","male","dismissed",{"id":79,"urn_id":80,"force_id":12,"station_id":39,"position_old":81,"position_id":82,"position_abbr":83,"title":84,"first_name":85,"middle_name":15,"last_name":86,"race":15,"user_id":46,"record_id":15,"status":46,"date_of_birth":15,"dob_year":15,"dob_month":72,"dob_day":72,"image":15,"description":15,"city_id":15,"source":15,"need_correction":30,"county_id":15,"country_id":53,"website":15,"is_claimed":15,"created_at":87,"updated_at":55,"facebook":15,"twitter":15,"linkedin":15,"youtube":15,"item_average_rating":15,"collar_number":15,"phone":15,"age":15,"annual_salary":15,"email":15,"gender":76,"hired_day":15,"hired_month":15,"hired_year":15,"hired_date":15,"hourly_rate":15,"job_status":60,"compid":15,"populargoogledq":15},"226","22619","Detective Sergeant","9","DS","Mark Devine","Mark","Devine","2021-11-26T10:00:15.000Z",{"id":89,"urn_id":90,"force_id":12,"station_id":15,"position_old":15,"position_id":91,"position_abbr":15,"title":92,"first_name":93,"middle_name":15,"last_name":94,"race":15,"user_id":15,"record_id":15,"status":15,"date_of_birth":15,"dob_year":15,"dob_month":15,"dob_day":15,"image":15,"description":15,"city_id":15,"source":95,"need_correction":30,"county_id":15,"country_id":53,"website":15,"is_claimed":17,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"facebook":15,"twitter":15,"linkedin":15,"youtube":15,"item_average_rating":15,"collar_number":15,"phone":15,"age":15,"annual_salary":15,"email":15,"gender":15,"hired_day":15,"hired_month":15,"hired_year":15,"hired_date":15,"hourly_rate":15,"job_status":96,"compid":15,"populargoogledq":15},"478","47819","22","Ash Harris","Ash","Harris","misconduct.com","unspecified",{"id":98,"urn_id":99,"force_id":12,"station_id":15,"position_old":15,"position_id":100,"position_abbr":15,"title":101,"first_name":102,"middle_name":15,"last_name":103,"race":15,"user_id":15,"record_id":15,"status":15,"date_of_birth":15,"dob_year":15,"dob_month":15,"dob_day":15,"image":15,"description":15,"city_id":15,"source":95,"need_correction":30,"county_id":15,"country_id":53,"website":15,"is_claimed":17,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"facebook":15,"twitter":15,"linkedin":15,"youtube":15,"item_average_rating":15,"collar_number":15,"phone":15,"age":15,"annual_salary":15,"email":15,"gender":15,"hired_day":15,"hired_month":15,"hired_year":15,"hired_date":15,"hourly_rate":15,"job_status":96,"compid":15,"populargoogledq":15},"490","49019","6","Bradley Cotton","Bradley","Cotton",{"id":105,"urn_id":106,"force_id":12,"station_id":15,"position_old":15,"position_id":100,"position_abbr":15,"title":107,"first_name":108,"middle_name":15,"last_name":109,"race":15,"user_id":15,"record_id":15,"status":15,"date_of_birth":15,"dob_year":15,"dob_month":15,"dob_day":15,"image":15,"description":15,"city_id":15,"source":95,"need_correction":30,"county_id":15,"country_id":53,"website":15,"is_claimed":17,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"facebook":15,"twitter":15,"linkedin":15,"youtube":15,"item_average_rating":15,"collar_number":15,"phone":15,"age":15,"annual_salary":15,"email":15,"gender":15,"hired_day":15,"hired_month":15,"hired_year":15,"hired_date":15,"hourly_rate":15,"job_status":96,"compid":15,"populargoogledq":15},"561","56119","Dean Torr","Dean","Torr",{"id":111,"urn_id":112,"force_id":12,"station_id":15,"position_old":15,"position_id":113,"position_abbr":15,"title":114,"first_name":115,"middle_name":15,"last_name":116,"race":15,"user_id":15,"record_id":15,"status":15,"date_of_birth":15,"dob_year":15,"dob_month":15,"dob_day":15,"image":15,"description":15,"city_id":15,"source":95,"need_correction":30,"county_id":15,"country_id":53,"website":15,"is_claimed":17,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"facebook":15,"twitter":15,"linkedin":15,"youtube":15,"item_average_rating":15,"collar_number":15,"phone":15,"age":15,"annual_salary":15,"email":15,"gender":15,"hired_day":15,"hired_month":15,"hired_year":15,"hired_date":15,"hourly_rate":15,"job_status":96,"compid":15,"populargoogledq":15},"640","64019","10","Jason Dunning","Jason","Dunning",{"id":118,"urn_id":119,"force_id":12,"station_id":15,"position_old":15,"position_id":100,"position_abbr":15,"title":120,"first_name":121,"middle_name":15,"last_name":122,"race":15,"user_id":15,"record_id":15,"status":15,"date_of_birth":15,"dob_year":15,"dob_month":15,"dob_day":15,"image":15,"description":15,"city_id":15,"source":95,"need_correction":30,"county_id":15,"country_id":53,"website":15,"is_claimed":17,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"facebook":15,"twitter":15,"linkedin":15,"youtube":15,"item_average_rating":15,"collar_number":15,"phone":15,"age":15,"annual_salary":15,"email":15,"gender":15,"hired_day":15,"hired_month":15,"hired_year":15,"hired_date":15,"hourly_rate":15,"job_status":96,"compid":15,"populargoogledq":15},"642","64219","Jeffrey Cresswell","Jeffrey","Cresswell",{"id":124,"urn_id":125,"force_id":12,"station_id":15,"position_old":15,"position_id":113,"position_abbr":15,"title":126,"first_name":127,"middle_name":15,"last_name":128,"race":15,"user_id":15,"record_id":15,"status":15,"date_of_birth":15,"dob_year":15,"dob_month":15,"dob_day":15,"image":15,"description":15,"city_id":15,"source":95,"need_correction":30,"county_id":15,"country_id":53,"website":15,"is_claimed":17,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"facebook":15,"twitter":15,"linkedin":15,"youtube":15,"item_average_rating":15,"collar_number":15,"phone":15,"age":15,"annual_salary":15,"email":15,"gender":15,"hired_day":15,"hired_month":15,"hired_year":15,"hired_date":15,"hourly_rate":15,"job_status":96,"compid":15,"populargoogledq":15},"652","65219","John Nichols","John","Nichols",{"id":130,"urn_id":131,"force_id":12,"station_id":15,"position_old":15,"position_id":100,"position_abbr":15,"title":132,"first_name":133,"middle_name":15,"last_name":134,"race":15,"user_id":15,"record_id":15,"status":15,"date_of_birth":15,"dob_year":15,"dob_month":15,"dob_day":15,"image":15,"description":15,"city_id":15,"source":95,"need_correction":30,"county_id":15,"country_id":53,"website":15,"is_claimed":17,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"facebook":15,"twitter":15,"linkedin":15,"youtube":15,"item_average_rating":15,"collar_number":15,"phone":15,"age":15,"annual_salary":15,"email":15,"gender":15,"hired_day":15,"hired_month":15,"hired_year":15,"hired_date":15,"hourly_rate":15,"job_status":96,"compid":15,"populargoogledq":15},"762","76219","Mitchell Sharp","Mitchell","Sharp"]