Michael joined Lancashire Constabulary in 1980 and served in most ranks in both uniform and detective roles and as Chief Superintendent was head of Crime and then Divisional Commander at Preston for three years.

When he was Detective Chief Superintendent, Lancashire received considerable acclaim for the way they tackled major and serious crime and were one of the few forces to be considered “excellent” in the implementation and deployment of the National Intelligence Model.

Michael joined Durham Constabulary in June 2008 as Assistant Chief Constable and was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in September 2009. He has been performing the role of Temporary Chief Constable since October 2012, following in the illustrious footsteps of Jon Stoddart.

Since joining Durham Michael has led the successful implementation of Nimrod operations to close open drug markets. In 2009 Michael led the investigation into a right wing extremist Ricin plot. He leads on the regional development of serious crime investigation and has a particular interest in the development of links with prison intelligence.

Michael has led new ways of tackling organised criminals with local beat officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), through challenging traditional ways of policing and encouraging paradigm shifts. Durham is now recognised as leading nationally in tackling serious and organised crime.

He has long been a keen exponent of both problem-orientated policing and integrated offender management, including Restorative Justice, and has successfully undertaken leadership roles to embed these concepts in Lancashire and Durham.

Michael leads nationally the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Intelligence Portfolio and is also ACPO lead for the Police National Database (Set up after the Soham Murders) and HOLMES. The murder computer system set up after the Yorkshire Ripper Case