Richard Hamlin
Former Police Leader and Current Chair of the Pan-Sussex Child Death Overview Panel
Richard runs his own training and development consultancy, working with individuals, teams and organisations on a number of key issues such as leadership development, critical thinking and decision making, DE&I, team cohesion and the management of conflict and difficult conversations.
Richard often delivers inputs on how to motivate and galvanise teams and the importance of calm, considered leadership at times of crisis. He also likes to focus on the importance of authentic, human centred leadership that is both ethical and empathetic yet decisive and effective. He has worked in policing roles that have brought him into contact with many senior members of government and the opposition. Richard says that he has seen the best and sometimes possibly the worst elements of leadership at the highest levels of political decision making which he found formative to say the least!
BIO...
Richard Hamlin runs the Sussex based training and development consultancy Define Leadership Ltd. He is also the Independent Chair of the Pan Sussex Child Death Overview Panel which reviews all child deaths to determine if lessons can be learnt to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of children and their families. He delivers focused training and coaching aimed at realising leadership potential, managing professional conflict and empowering workforces to achieve excellence. He also runs a significant amount of safeguarding related training, focusing on protecting children, adults with care and support needs and people suffering from domestic abuse and stalking. He works with individuals and teams from organisations across all sectors, including police forces, the military, local authorities, health and social services and several universities. Richard spent 25 years working for Surrey and Sussex Police in various roles including Head of the Surrey Police Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), and the manager of the Anti-Corruption Unit. He led a large team of officers and staff as a District Commander delivering community focused policing in collaboration with the local authority, key partner agencies and local communities. A trained Senior Investigating Officer, he managed teams investigating serious and complex crime. He was also the Head of Crime Training for Surrey and Sussex Police, with a mandate to engender and develop an investigative mindset in the officers and staff of both forces. He was Staff Officer to Sir Mark Rowley, the current Metropolitan Police Commissioner, whilst he was Chief Constable of Surrey Police and spent two years on secondment as Staff Officer to Sir Hugh Orde at the Association of Chief Police Officers in London, working on the implementation of national policing strategy. Richard seeks to deliver positive outcomes using compassionate and ethical leadership and decision making. He is passionate about helping people develop to their full potential and become the very best that they can be. An accredited trainer and executive coach, he was sponsored to participate in an international leadership programme in Shanghai. He has undertaken several voluntary and charitable roles, including coaching youth sports and joining a working party to build a community hall in South Africa. He is also the safeguarding lead for a Sussex based community project supporting vulnerable people.
More about Richard
Richard often delivers inputs on how to motivate and galvanise teams and the importance of calm, considered leadership at times of crisis. He also likes to focus on the importance of authentic, human centred leadership that is both ethical and empathetic yet decisive and effective. He has worked in policing roles that have brought him into contact with many senior members of government and the opposition. Richard says that he has seen the best and sometimes possibly the worst elements of leadership at the highest levels of political decision making which he found formative to say the least!
Equality, diversity and inclusion is something on which he currently provides training. “It is important to demystify it so that it is clear and relatable. People often feel intimidated by the mention of equality when in reality most of us, embrace it on a daily basis,” Richard says.
​
Richard adds that health and wellbeing are finally receiving the recognition it has always deserved. He promotes resilience and self-care within the leadership training he delivers and, on several occasions, he has co-delivered sessions with his daughter who is a qualified yoga and meditation teacher. “This may sound slightly niche but it’s a well-received session that gets to the crux of self-care and health.”
In his role as Head of Crime Training, he worked with the University of Sussex to roll out a programme of trauma informed practice in both Surrey and Sussex Police.
​
“I never take myself too seriously and find that well timed delf-depreciating humour is a good way to build a rapport with audiences. I enjoy telling stories and, as an experienced facilitator, I regularly see the value in delivering training through well placed, contextual stories, often with a sprinkling of humour. It puts people at ease and re-enforces key points of learning.”
Previous speaker engagements
Richard has undertaken a number of varied public speaking roles. He was the Head of Music at W963 University Radio Warwick and presented the televised annual students union elections coverage. He has raised large sums for charities by running quizzes and hosts with humour and patience, enjoying building a rapport with guests.
​
In 2023 he was invited to perform the role of celebrant at a wedding at the luxurious 5 Star Lyrath Estate Hotel in Kilkenny, Ireland.
​
He currently chairs the Pan Sussex Child Death Overview Panel twice monthly and, as a police leader, he has previously chaired many large multi-agency safeguarding and strategic meetings.
​
Richard has facilitated a number of large charity events for fund-raising purposes, including black tie dinners and whilst with Surrey Police he was asked to host long service and commendation award ceremonies.
Andy & Gill Brown
Kilkenny, Ireland
We are delighted to give Richard a glowing reference after he generously agreed to be celebrant at our wedding in May 2023. As our celebrant, Richard brought the perfect blend of humour, warmth, and professionalism to our wedding ceremony. He provided us with a personalised ceremony that was meaningful, warm, and humorous.
“Richard is a natural public speaker and made our wedding day truly unforgettable. All of our friends and family still talk about how brilliant he was.”
Shirley Blanch
Conversation Starter Project
Horsham
“I attended a brilliant leadership workshop run by Richard for Horsham District Council Voluntary Sector Support last year. It was really informative and encouraged me to think about leadership in a different way. Having his previous experience working in the police definitely added to the training as he was able to give real life examples of situations where effective leadership is crucial. I would definitely attend another workshop run by Richard.”
Andrew Smith
Head of Housing and Community Services
Horsham District Council
“It was an excellent day, and all the feedback has been really positive. I felt that you engaged the whole group really well and although there was (and needed to be) a lot of material it was not heavy and landed with the group perfectly.”
