SAFE Associate – Mike West
Mike is an experienced and highly decorated former Detective Superintendent with a proven record of inspiring large multi-agency, cross-jurisdictional teams to provide and prepare for strategic safeguarding delivery across international law enforcement & partnerships.
Mike retired from Policing in 2024. Within his 30 years career, Mike served for over 15 years as a Senior Investigating Officer, during which he operated for over a decade as a Deputy Head of Public Protection Units and the Head of a Major Crime and Serious & Organised Crime Branch.
As a current and nationally accredited PIP Level 4 Strategic Manager of Complex Cases, Mike has led some of the most high-profile overt criminal investigations and high-risk covert safeguarding operations experienced regionally and nationally, and particularly those that involve victims and potential victims who are children or people in vulnerable circumstances.
Mike was awarded the National SIO of the Year Award in 2021 for his ‘unwavering professionalism, dedication and commitment to delivering an outstanding service to the victims, families and communities affected by major and serious crime’ and was recognised in the 2025 New Years Honours list on being awarded the King’s Police Medal (KPM) for a ‘specially distinguished record in policing’.
Since his retirement, Mike has been engaged by the UK Home Office and Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office to design and deliver multi-agency training and strategic reviews nationally & internationally. Mike has collaborated with clients from within the public, private and third sectors including those providing safeguarding services within care, health, education, law enforcement and military settings.
Mike specialises in collaborating with individuals, teams and organisations as they seek to establish or to enhance their safeguarding delivery in relation to the assessment and management of risk, ethical decision making, investigation and leadership within both ‘standard operating procedure’ environments and at times of complexity or critical need.