THE borough commander is moving on and has his sights set on promotion.

Chief Superintendent Gerry Howlett, 50, has been selected for a six-month strategic command course and will leave Bromley Police in January or February.

Chief Supt Howlett, who began his police career 25 years ago, joined Bromley Police in 1997 as a superintendent and was made borough commander in March 1998.

He will attend the National Police Training Centre at Brams Hills, in Hampshire, and a training centre near Edinburgh, as well as Cambridge University.

On completion of the course, he will be able to apply for the post of Commander, in the Met, or Assistant Chief Constable anywhere outside London.

He said: "The course is an opportunity to look at longer term policing issues and prepare myself for a more senior rank.

"I actually go with mixed feelings because I have thoroughly enjoyed the time I have been at Bromley and I have no particular desire to leave the borough."

Chief Supt Howlett, who lives in a village near Sevenoaks, in Kent, is married to Carole, a deputy assistant commissioner in the Met. They have a 28-year-old daughter and a 21-year-old son.

December 18, 2001 16:11