New command at Warrington following retirement of longest serving LPU Inspector and Chief Inspector

Rob McLoughlin began his career with Cheshire Constabulary in 2002 at the age of 18 and has since dedicated his service to policing the communities of northern Cheshire.

Initially assigned to Widnes, Rob spent the first five years of his career serving as a constable across various policing areas within Halton. In 2007, he transitioned to the role of Detective Constable, dedicating seven years to the CID and Northern Crime Unit in Warrington before being promoted to Sergeant.

As a Sergeant, Rob served in Response, Beat and as the Proactive CID Detective Sergeant for Runcorn. Upon his promotion to Inspector, he undertook the roles of Beat Inspector for Widnes Local Policing Unit (LPU) and Detective Inspector for the Northern Area Investigation Team in Halton.

More recently, as Chief Inspector, Rob held the positions of LPU Commander at Runcorn and Detective Chief Inspector for the Northern Area. In addition to his command at Warrington LPU, Rob serves as Cheshire Constabulary's force lead for robbery investigations as well as night-time economy policing.

Outside of work, Rob is married with two daughters. He enjoys spending quality time with his family and following football.

Upon his appointment as Chief Inspector for Warrington, Rob expressed his pride, stating:

"I am extremely proud to serve as Chief Inspector at Warrington. My colleague Chief Inspector Neil Drum is leaving the LPU in a very healthy position but my role is crucial in continuing to ensure our officers receive the support necessary to meet the needs and expectations of our residents.

"I have a deep personal connection and investment in this town, having spent several years policing the area in various frontline roles, I can definitely understand and relate to the challenges of neighbourhood policing and recognise the impacts on our communities - I am committed to ensuring public confidence in the police.

"My priority is to put our residents first, striving to make our area an even safer environment for all who live, work, and visit our great town. Supported by a strong team and established relationships with our partner agencies, I plan to harness their passion and energy to enhance safety in Warrington.

"I am a strong advocate for preventive and proactive policing and expect my officers to maintain a commitment to hard work, pragmatic policing and keep their composure. I will ensure that our officers excel in the basics and work tirelessly to target those who seek to harm our communities."

Chief Inspector McLoughlin succeeds Chief Inspector Neil Drum, who is set to retire on Tuesday 11 February after spending the majority of his policing career serving the people and communities of Warrington in most policing ranks.

Neil began his policing career in 1997 as a Police Constable with the response team at Warrington's Arpley Street Station and wanted to join Cheshire Constabulary because of its upstanding reputation.

Following his start in Warrington, Neil then became a Detective Constable with the town's CID unit, before being promoted to the rank of Sergeant in March 2003 and serving in Wilmslow, Widnes and Warrington in Patrol, Detective, Neighbourhood and Staff Officer roles.

The majority of Neil's work has centred around protecting and serving Warrington's neighbourhoods. In 2010, Neil was appointed to the Town Centre Neighbourhood Policing Unit (NPU) Temporary Inspector role for 14 months.

His time here would greatly benefit the town, with the NPU being awarded the Kevin Brinkman Northern Area Award for making a significant reduction in crime and incident demand and an effective robust policing approach.

Neil then led the Warrington Central NPU, the largest NPU in the Northern Area from 2012.

In July of 2015, with the introduction of the Local Policing Unit model, Neil would become Neighbourhood Inspector, meaning he was in charge of managing all six Beat Management Teams that sit within Warrington LPU. He would be in this role for the next five years.

In November 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Neil faced new previously unseen challenges alongside the day-to-day running of the largest LPU in Cheshire, following his promotion to his current role of Warrington's Chief Inspector and has led the LPU to date.

Whilst here, he played a part in the delivery of the AIT Proof of Concept Team at Warrington in 2022 and oversaw the LPU achieving reductions in incident demand, reduced crime and improved arrest and detection rates.

Neil has served at Warrington at PC, Sergeant, Inspector and Chief Inspector rankings and is the longest-serving Inspector and Chief Inspector to serve in Warrington.

Chief Inspector Neil Drum said:

"There is never a quiet day here at Warrington, it's fast-paced and demanding, so you are never bored - I will miss that pace and I will miss the vibrancy of working at Warrington and I will certainly miss the people.

"The journey we have taken over the last few years in terms of our performance improvements and making a difference and keeping people safe has been superb and that is down to the work of everyone here at Warrington - it is a testament to the calibre of officers, staff and volunteers we've got.

"We have some fantastic officers, staff and volunteers at Warrington who do some tremendous work day-in-day-out to help keep the public safe. To lead people like that and to do extraordinary things has been an honour - that I would say is the highlight of my career.

"I have seen many people come and go from Warrington, many leadership teams change and other changes and many serious and tragic big incidents, but the pinnacle of my career has been leading Warrington LPU. I am very passionate about policing in Warrington and keeping people safe, so to obtain the post of Chief Inspector has been an absolute privilege.

“I extend my sincere thanks to everyone who works and has worked at Warrington LPU, and across the Northern Area, for their outstanding work, dedication to duty and commitment to deliver safer communities and achieve the results they have.

"I am proud to see the Constabulary praised for its excellent performance in the recent PEEL inspection report and be amongst the best forces in the country, is testament to the hard work of everyone across the county over the last three years."

Over the next few months, Neil intends to spend quality time with his family, with plans for a much-deserved holiday with his wife Jayne, who works for the Constabulary's Northern Area Performance Team, and their two sons, Jack and Josh, as well as a trip to see his brother, Mark, in Sydney.

Chief Inspector Drum added:

"I have yet to determine my future path, but I certainly intend to do something productive, something of interest and I will start to shape that path in the coming months.

"I love my military history, that's one of my passions, so doing some travelling is definitely on the radar.

"In the short term, my intention is to take some time with my family and enjoying watching my sons do their boxing and watching them develop."

Despite all he has planned for the future, Neil has reassured incoming Chief Inspector McLoughlin, Area Commander Superintendent Adam Ross and the hard-working policing team at Warrington's Arpley Street station that he will make sure to come in and visit from time to time to see how they are faring in his absence.

Everyone at Warrington LPU and the wider Cheshire Constabulary family wish Chief Inspector Neil Drum the very best in his retirement ahead of his final working day on Tuesday 11 February.