The Outsider: The Autobiography of One of Britain’s Most Controversial Policemen - Hardcover

Hellawell, Keith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007145292 ISBN 13: 9780007145294

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2002

Synopsis

The tough life of one of Britain's most senior policemen, who rose through the ranks from poverty and deprivation to the highest office, and went on to become Blair’s ‘Drug Czar’.

An abused, unwanted, squint-eyed boy, Keith Hellawell never knew who his real father was. His mother, a club dancer, was always bringing home different men, and would tie him to the table-leg to keep him quiet. He fought at school and went down the pit. It was a hard-bitten, inauspicious start for a man who was eventually to become Chief Constable of Cleveland, and then West Yorkshire, and later, controversially, New Labour's much-feted and summarily dismissed 'Drugs Tsar'.

In his autobiography he writes candidly about four decades of public service. He lifts the veil on police brutality, corruption and abuse of power. He chronicles the rise in terrorism, public disorder, drug abuse and criminality. He discusses the childishness and insecurity of politicians and civil servants. He deals with the issues of racism, sexism and political correctness, and provides a rare insight into the workings of the judiciary, royalty and the establishment. And he chronicles the often lonely challenges of dealing with the likes of Peter Sutcliffe in a police career that took him everywhere from Northern Ireland to Hollywood.

The Outsider is the autobiography of a man of absolute integrity fired by the determination to better not only his own lot, but that of other humans as well, and to change things from the inside.

About this title

About the Author

Keith Hellawell was born and brought up in Yorkshire and, after spending some years working as a minter, has been a policeman all his life. In the seventies he served in Northern Ireland, and h became Assistant Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police in 1983. Thereafter he as successively Deputy Chief Constable, Humberside Police, Chief Constable, Cleveland Police, and Chief Constable, West Yorkshire Police. He was made New Labour’s ‘Drug Tsar’ in 1998, and resigned his position in July 2002. He is married with three children and lives in Yorkshire.

From the Back Cover

An abused, unwanted, squint-eyed boy, Keith Hellawell never knew who his real father was. His mother, a club dancer, was always bringing home different men, and would tie him to the table-leg to keep him quiet. He fought at school and went down the pit. It was a hard-bitten, inauspicious start for a man who was eventually to become Chief Constable of Cleveland, and then West Yorkshire, and later, controversially, New Labour's much-feted and summarily dismissed 'Drugs Czar'.

In his autobiography he writes candidly about four decades of public service. He lifts the veil on police brutality, corruption and abuse of power. He chronicles the rise in terrorism, public disorder, drug abuse and criminality. He discusses the childishness and insecurity of politicians and civil servants. He deals with the issues of racism, sexism and political correctness, and provides a rare insight into the workings of the judiciary, royalty and the establishment. And he chronicles the often lonely challenges of dealing with the likes of Peter Sutcliffe in a police career that took him everywhere from Northern Ireland to Hollywood.

The Outsider is the autobiography of a man of absolute integrity fired by the determination to better not only his own lot, but that of other humans as well, and to change things from the inside.

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0007145292
• ISBN 13: 9780007145294
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400