This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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SDEA Head reappointed
13/10/2006
Mr Graeme Pearson, QPM has been reappointed as the Director of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency.
Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson welcomed the reappointment of Mr Pearson who, under the Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006, will become the first Director General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) when it is formally established on April 1, 2007.
She stressed that the new SCDEA would be at the forefront of Scotland's drive to destroy more of the organised crime and drugs gangs' intent on peddling their misery on Scotland's streets.
Ms Jamieson said:
"I am pleased to announce that Graeme Pearson has accepted a three year extension to his appointment which will take effect from March 10, 2007. I place a great deal of importance on the SDEA's work and I am grateful for the enthusiasm and energy which Graeme Pearson has brought to the post.
"Although crime is falling - and especially violent crime - drugs remains at the root of a large part of criminality in our country. That's why we are taking concerted action to tackle the drugs menace in our communities.
"The SDEA - working with Scotland's police forces and other law enforcement bodies at home and abroad - is at the forefront of that effort. It is intercepting more of the international gangs preying on Scotland, and successfully seeking out and destroying more illegal drugs factories. Last year alone, the SDEA seized class A drugs with a total street value of £22.3 million.
"That's the scale of the challenge we and the SDEA face. And that's why I am convinced that continuity of leadership is important at this time. I know Graeme's commitment will remain unstinting during his period of reappointment."
The SDEA was launched on 1 June 2000, fulfilling a commitment in the Scottish Executive's Programme for Government - A Partnership for Scotland - to gave Scotland an enforcement agency dedicated to the investigation of drug trafficking and other serious organised crime.
The Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006, will enable the SDEA to build on its success in tackling serious organised crime and will enable it do its work more effectively by placing it on a statutory footing with statutory functions and providing full operational independence.
Under the Act, it will also be renamed the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) to better reflect its work. The Act will also enable police officers and other key staff to be directly recruited, rather than have to be seconded from one of Scotland's police forces as is the case at present.
Graeme Pearson joined the (then) City of Glasgow Police in 1970 and has completed his service with Strathclyde Police. His early career focused on detective duties with uniform territorial command positions in the middle ranks and at divisional commander level. Appointed Assistant Chief Constable in Strathclyde in October 1998, he held the community safety portfolio until March of 2000 when he moved to crime. Through his force and ACPOS responsibilities, he has been involved in extensive and distinctive exposure to local, national and international crime issues in a key strategic role in one of the UK's largest police forces. He was awarded the Queens Police Medal in 2002. He was appointed to the post of Director of the SDEA in 2004. On reappointment his salary will be £114,048.