Barking and Dagenham police borough commander retires

Supt Sean Wilson has been appointed temporary borough commander after 15 years in blue (Image: Archant)

Chief Supt Sultan Taylor stood down as Barking and Dagenham’s highest-ranking officer at the end of last month after more than 32 years in the force.

A keen sportsman, the 56-year-old will now spend his time coaching tennis after just over a year of heading up the borough.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my borough command and working with the local community,” he said.

“My staff and the community worked really well and together we achieved a lot.

“One of my proudest achievements has been improving the confidence of policing in the borough and taking it from one of the lowest in London to mid-table.”

Born in Trinidad and Tobago, he settled in England at the age of two and joined the force in 1983 – serving in then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s Finchley constituency.

After rising through the ranks across a number of London boroughs – including a brief stint in charge of the Met’s 7,000-strong vehicle fleet – he became borough commander of neighbouring Havering in 2005, before taking on a similar role in Ealing two years later.

As well as coaching tennis and cricket, Mr Taylor has also acted as a fourth official for a number of Premier League games, including a particularly feisty meeting between Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur in the late 1990s, when he had to break up managers Martin O’Neil and Christian Gross.

Supt Sean Wilson will now take over the reigns after being appointed interim borough commander, having served Barking and Dagenham for the past 11 months.

“It’s a super borough to work in,” said the 51-year-old, who has also worked in Camden, Kensington and Chelsea and Lambeth. “We have some very strong partnerships and have the ability to pick up the phone and speak to them straight away and get things going straight away.”