Kevin Macey
A highly experienced investigator from the joint Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, Kevin Macey, whose career spans more than 47 years has been recognised in the King’s New Year’s Honours List with a British Empire Medal for his services to policing and victims.
Mr Macey has spent much of his working life employed by Essex Police (where he started in 1975) but in 2011, when Kent Police and Essex Police set up the joint Serious Crime Directorate, he took on the role of reviewing both forces’ major crime cases.
Mr Macey said news of the award came as a ‘complete surprise, followed by pride’, that he was still able to deliver something that others felt was worthwhile.
During his career, the former detective superintendent, and Head of Specialist Investigations, has dealt with more than 50 murders and attempted murders, together with a multitude of other serious and high-profile investigations.
Recent prominent cases Mr Spacey has assisted with, include:
• The conviction of Mark Brown earlier this year for the murders of Kent mother Alexandra Morgan and Leah Ware, from Sussex. He was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment.
• Operation Sandpiper – the cold case investigation which led to David Fuller being brought justice for the 1987 murders of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce, in Tunbridge Wells. Advanced DNA techniques identified Fuller as their murderer – which then led detectives to discover his abuse of a total of 101 bodies in mortuary settings over 15 years. In 2021, Fuller was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order and will never be released.
• The conviction of Callum Wheeler in July 2022, for the murder of Kent Police PCSO Julia James. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Over the years, Mr Macey has been presented with three top awards from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (and its forerunner, the Association of Chief Police Officers), and the Homicide Working Group.
In 2022, he received a lifetime achievement award for building and developing the SCD’s case review capability, capturing best practice and learning in homicide investigations, kidnap and extortion and across several statutory Public Protection review functions, as well as developing new processes around homicide prevention.
Mr Macey, who is a PIP4 or strategic investigator and continues to support and develop new senior staff and younger detectives, added:
‘Serious crime investigations can be hugely testing but there are fewer greater rewards than the gratitude of victims, or their families, for what we do, as police officers and staff, to mitigate harm and bring people to justice. Each case is interesting because of the victims, their families, and the people you work with – helping them to be the best they can be.’