The decline of the Fishing industry sparked a whole new career for a Lossiemouth man – and now he is set to become one of the most influential policemen in Scotland.
Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Campbell Thomson started his working life as a fisherman out of Peterhead before the decline led to his seeking a new direction – and he has never looked back since.
Now ACC Thomson has been appointed as new leader of Police Scotland’s North Command with responsibility for policing from the Highlands to Dundee, with his native Moray very much a part of his ‘beat’.
He returns to the North East after spending a year in Glasgow as the head of the Major Investigations Team.
Mr Thomson joined the Grampian force in 1990 and went on to become head of CID before becoming one of six ACC’s in the newly formed Police Scotland.
Speaking of his new role, ACC Thomson said: “I became a fisherman like so many from the area before me but unfortunately the industry went into decline – and I went to join the police force.
“Policing has evolved and of course the most significant change has been the move towards a single force.”
Saying that the move allowed specialist teams to supplement local policing, Mr Thomson added: “Everything revolves around local policing but before it was the case that if you had a major incident everything else would shut down.
“Now we have the specialist squads to keep everything running.”