Rob Beckley became High Sheriff of Somerset in March 2024 on retirement from the police. He had a distinguished 38-year policing career, working in operational and investigative roles at all ranks from PC to Chief Constable.
He lives in Pitminster, near Taunton and hails from the West Country, having been born and brought up on the Wiltshire/Somerset borders.
Rob, a graduate in Law from University College Durham, joined the police after having spent almost four years working in education and development in Africa.
His police career took him from inner city London to Avon and Somerset Constabulary, then to the College of Policing, with his most recent police appointment being Advisor to the Home Secretary and leading criminal and disciplinary investigations into the Hillsborough disaster.
Rob is married to Sue, a Consultant Pathologist at Musgrove Park Hospital. They have three sons, two of whom have followed Rob into the police. Rob is a keen cyclist, and has ridden across virtually all of Somerset on his bike.
He actively supports and is a trustee of a number of charities, some local to Somerset as well as international charities such as the Bishop Tutu Foundation and Project Trust.
Rob’s theme, whilst High Sheriff, was to encourage greater participation in volunteering and community organisations. In his career, he led work across all police forces designed to increase volunteering in policing. This passionate interest in volunteering continued beyond policing and fueled his focus in his year as High Sheriff.