Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I am firstly a husband to my wife, Sarah. We have been together for 32 years, however only married for 25 years, as I had to be sure she was the right one. I am a father to our two children, Ben aged 17 and Jessica aged 15. I am sure being a parent to teenagers of that age will resonate with some of you and you will understand my challenges in life! This is probably the reason for my lack of hair.

I have recently retired from Lancashire Police after 28 years of service. I loved working in Roads Policing and wanted a new career in a similar field - MIB seemed like the perfect fit.

I am convinced I have made the right move. The people I have met have been incredibly welcoming and patient. The job I am doing is incredible, and I feel so fortunate to be part of this great team.

Tell us about your professional background and why you joined MIB

I started my working life in the Royal Navy, moving on to work with Rothmans and Marlboro cigarettes, before finding my calling and joining the police.

I spent 28 years as an officer with Lancashire Police. I started out as a response officer in Blackburn, then moving on to the Operational Support Units dealing with nighttime economy, public order, football, etc. After being promoted to Sgt, I initially spent time on response again, before becoming an Operational Firearms Commander.

Following further promotion to Inspector, I found myself as the Roads Policing Inspector - a post I loved so much I never left during my time at Lancashire Police, nor went for further promotion. In this position, I had responsibility for everything to do with Roads Policing, from Fatal Collision Investigations to Family Liaison officers, ANPR team, Road Safety, and more. This is where I found my home. Seeing the devastation that happened on the roads, I wanted to help prevent families being ripped apart through these tragedies.

Lancashire had an issue with motorcycle casualties, something that was close to my heart as a biker. So, I brought BikeSafe to Lancashire. Since I implemented this initiative in Lancashire, over 900 bikers have attended courses. I also set up ‘Safe Drive Stay Alive’, a stage presentation aimed at 17-21 year olds. We delivered this presentation to over 35,000 students across the county.

My passion for road safety brought me to the MIB following my retirement as a police officer.

What has been the highlight or most memorable moment of your career so far?

This is really difficult. Clearly the BikeSafe and Safe Drive Stay Alive initiatives were incredible. However, also equally important was gaining agreement to set up a bespoke team who dedicate their time to investigating fatal and high-end serious road traffic collisions, to get justice for victims and families. This was extremely emotional but hugely rewarding. This type of work has had a huge personal impact on me, and I know the impact it had, and still has, on those working on this team.

On a more personal side of police work was the fact I was a VIPEX motorcycle rider and got to work at the funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth and at the Coronation of HM King Charles. I also got to meet and talk to members of the royal family and prime ministers whilst doing this type of work, whenever they visited Lancashire.

Anything else we should know about you?

I am a big Rugby Union fan and retired player, which probably explains my nose and the aching bones as I get older. I am a coach with the girls teams at my local club where my daughter plays, although I find their energy increasingly difficult to keep up with.

I love skiing with the family and heading away on holiday, enjoying time together before the kids grow up and no longer want to come away with us - although I am sure that if we are paying, they may continue to come with us!

What area do you cover, and how can we contact you?

I cover Northern England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man, so please get in touch with me to come out on any operations and to support training requirements for both road policing and all other uniform areas of policing.

• Merseyside
• Greater Manchester
• Lancashire
• South Yorkshire
• West Yorkshire
• North Yorkshire
• Humberside
• Cumbria
• Durham
• Cleveland
• Northumbria
• Police Scotland
• Police Service of N Ireland
• Isle of Man

You can contact me on:

• atrotter@mib.org.uk
• 07825 250960
• @AndyTrotterMIB on X/Twitter - please feel free to give me a follow (I need the numbers...!)