25 Facts About Ray Mallon

Ray Mallon was born on 1955 and is a British politician who was the independent Mayor of Middlesbrough from 2002 to 2015.

Ray Mallon left school at the age of sixteen with no qualifications.

Ray Mallon was appointed detective chief inspector for Hartlepool in 1994.

Ray Mallon was promoted to detective superintendent in November 1996, and crime rates continued to fall.

Ray Mallon was nicknamed "Robocop" over his New York-inspired zero tolerance approach to anti-social crime.

In December 1997, Ray Mallon was one of sixty-one police officers suspended from duty amid allegations of misconduct as part of Operation Lancet.

Charges against Ray Mallon included nine of neglect of duty, three of falsehood and prevarication, one of discreditable conduct and one of misconduct towards of a member of the police force, which he described as "minor" disciplinary matters.

Ray Mallon offered his resignation in August 2001, but this was rejected by the chief constable so that a disciplinary hearing could take place.

Ray Mallon pleaded guilty to all fourteen charges against him in February 2002, claiming he did nothing wrong but only pleaded guilty so he could be free to stand to be Mayor of Middlesbrough, as police officers are unable to campaign politically.

Ray Mallon accepted applications for roles in his nine-member cabinet from all parties, though the Labour group on the council initially maintained a boycott.

Ray Mallon kept a council of seven Labour councillors, one Conservative and one independent.

Ray Mallon increased the use of CCTV in the town centre and started a programme of neighbourhood wardens that brought street offences to a historic low.

Many residents in Gresham, near central Middlesbrough, including ward councillor and former council leader Ken Walker, vocally opposed Ray Mallon-supported 2005 plans to demolish 1,453 homes across thirty-seven streets as part of a regeneration scheme.

Ray Mallon ordered the demolition to pause in 2013 after 280 properties were demolished, saying he had made a mistake.

Ray Mallon proclaimed a boycott of Channel 4 and protested to Ofcom over a description of Middlesbrough as the worst place to live in Britain as part of its programme Location, Location, Location.

Ray Mallon defended the sale and referred himself to the council's Standards Committee.

Ray Mallon stood down in 2015, not contesting the mayoral election of that year.

Sales of assets to Ray Mallon's former election agent Nasser Din at prices lower than other offers that the council rejected as well as independent valuations were criticised and investigated, with the Tees Valley Audit and Assurance Services finding that there was a "cause for concern bordering on significant concern" but without any evidence of criminal activity.

Ray Mallon has been sought for roles by both the Conservative Party and the Labour Party.

Ray Mallon chaired a policing policy group for the Centre for Social Justice, a conservative think tank.

In 2011, Ray Mallon criticised cuts to local government as "a financial war on us" disproportionally affecting more deprived areas, while supporting deficit reduction in principle.

Ray Mallon identified the greatest problem in Middlesbrough as premature death.

Ray Mallon supported a regional assembly, however the "yes" campaign was defeated by almost 500,000 votes, and lost in every electing council area.

Ray Mallon has consistently expressed hostility towards beggars, including accusing them of begging as a more profitable alternative to crime.

Ray Mallon was sceptical of the introduction of directly-elected police and crime commissioners.