Sir Stanley Bailey championed the concept of community policing, placing crime prevention at the heart of his policies while head of the Northumbria Police between 1975 and 1991.
After visiting the USA to see the benefits of anti-crime partnerships, Sir Stanley helped set up the Northumbria Coalition Against Crime (NCAC). This true Gentleman was an enthusiastic advocate of community involvement, and an equally enthusiastic champion of Neighbourhood Watch.
During his time with the Northumbria Constabulary, Sir Stanley served as president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). Having received the Queen’s Police Medal in 1973, he was made a CBE in the early 1980s and then granted a knighthood later that same decade.
The early years
Born in London, Stanley Bailey was the youngest of five children. He first visited the North East (to where he would later retire) when, as a ‘Bevan Boy’, he worked at Ferryhill, Hordon and Easington Collieries during wartime.
As soon as the war ended, the young man returned to London in 1947 and found himself joining the Metropolitan Police Service. Diligent work saw him ascend to the rank of superintendent before he eventually moved on to Staffordshire Police as assistant chief constable.
A spell as the inaugural police director at the Home Office’s Police Research and Development Unit followed, then it was time to return to Staffordshire as deputy chief constable before joining Northumbria as chief constable in December 1975.
Marriages and retirement
Rita – Sir Stanley’s first wife, to whom he was happily married for 43 years – died back in January 1997. Thankfully, Sir Stanley found happiness again when he married Maureen in the summer of 1998.
During his retirement, Sir Stanley campaigned for pensioners’ rights.
Sadly, he suffered a stroke three years ago, but summoning all of his strength he gradually fought to regain his mobility.
Tributes from the service and the ASC
Paying his own tribute to Sir Stanley Bailey, Northumbria Police’s present chief constable Mike Craik – speaking in The Morpeth Herald – commented: “I wish to extend my sincere condolences to Sir Stanley’s family, and to recognise the hugely important contribution he made to the force and, in particular, his work with local communities.”
ASC founder memember Mike Cahalane added: “II first met Sir Stanley in 1972 when he was chairman of the British Standards Institution’s (BSI) Intruder Alarm Standards Committee TLE/27. I was the representative for the Independent Intruder Alarm Association, one of two security industry associations developing the first UK intruder alarm standards. Sir Stanley epitomised all those characteristics that one admires in a human being. He was always courteous, precise, encouragingly articulate, without pomp and able to persuade through his warm, inclusive, intelligent and generous personality.
“He knew how to strike a balance between all those vested interests in the security industry, both public and private, that can slow progress when under the chairmanship of lesser mortals. Sir Stanley got things done. The successful publication and implementation of the 20 parts of BS 4737 has served the technical side of the security industry for these past 36 years and is a measure of his invaluable contribution.”
Cahalane continued: “In 1990, the Association of Burglary Insurance Surveyors (ABIS) presented its annual award – the ABIS Ken Bolton Memorial Award – for ‘Outstanding Achievement and Services to Security and Crime Prevention’ to Sir Stanley. The ABIS award, first presented in 1978, recognises the vital contribution individuals make to the insurance industry in managing risk. In 1993, the BSI gave a special award to Sir Stanley in recognition of his long service to its work in developing UK national standards for security systems.
“Sir Stanley continued to take an interest in standards in the north of England, recognising the need to raise inspection standards on behalf of the public and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) whose revised intruder alarm policy encouraged the creation of an independent security systems inspectorate in addition to the National Approval Council for Security Systems (NACOSS). The inaugural meeting of the Security Systems and Alarm Inspection Board (SSAIB) was held in November 1994, and Sir Stanley was invited to be president. I was delighted to continue my association with him as the representative of the ASC on the Board of the SSAIB.
“In 1991, I was one of seven independent security consultants who founded the Association of Security Consultants (ASC). I was subsequently required by the members to suggest a patron and asked Sir Stanley if he would be interested in lending his name and time. He accepted following a review of our activity, and served as a patron of the ASC until his sad passing. He supported the aims of the organisation, and was always generous with his time and advice. Knowing Sir Stanley over the last 36 years has been rewarding at all times. He was a consistent source of advice and encouragement to me both personally and professionally. I will miss him.”
The editorial teams at Security Management Today, Security Installer and info4security extend their sincere condolences to members of Sir Stanley’s family as well as his many friends and industry colleagues.