Tributes paid to former Northamptonshire Police Assistant Chief Constable, Derek Talbot, who led county response to 7/7 bombings

A former Assistant Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police has died aged 63.

Derek Talbot, who lived in Harlestone, retired from the Force in 2010 after 12 years’ service in the county.

He was the ACPO (Association of Police Officers) lead on Taser and was instrumental in the trials of the device in Northamptonshire, a device which is now widely used across UK policing.

Before moving to Northamptonshire, he served with Hertfordshire Police and then spent 13 years with the Metropolitan Police, during which he also acted as an advisor to the Police Service Representative on the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice.

Officers and staff have remembered, in particular, the work he did to reassure diverse communities across Northamptonshire in the wake of the September 11 attacks and the 7/7 bombings in London.

Tributes to Derek came in today from two former Chief Constables under whom he served.

Peter Maddison, Chief Constable from 2003-2009, said: “Derek was a colleague with a fine mind and a desire to innovate in policing. He will be missed.”

And Adrian Lee, who led the Force from 2009-2015, also paid tribute: “‘Derek will be remembered for his commitment to Northamptonshire Police and for the work he did nationally on the development of forensic science.”

Sam Dobbs, chairman of Northamptonshire Police Federation, who worked alongside Derek as a staff officer, said: “Derek was an intensely private man who added an often challenging, cerebral and academic dimension to the Chief Officer teams of his era, as Assistant Chief Constable, and later as temporary Deputy Chief Constable.

“He was avidly interested in diversity and the different cultures in our community, and had an amazing strategic thinking capacity, able to consume and understand huge amounts of information.

"He was at the helm as strategic commander for a number of key police operations, including the aftermath of the 7/7 atrocities.”