Philip Osborne

**Philip Osborne** is the Chief Constable of Central Police.

## Background

### Personal

Osborne was born on the 7th March 1965, possibly in Wales based on his accent. His next of kin is listed as a Mrs Natalie Osborne.

### Professional

He joined Central Police in 1985, having underdone training at Ryton-on-Dunsmore Police Training Centre. He was assigned to Hillside Lane Station in 1989, and was promoted to Sergeant in 1991. By 1995 he had transferred to Polk Avenue Station. He became an Inspector in 1997, and was working out of South Ferry Station by 2002. In 2003 during the controversial death of Lawrence Christopher he was Duty Inspector of West Moreland Station, and was involved in the case along with DCI Marcus Thurwell and then DC Ian Buckells.

By 2012 he has been promoted to Chief Inspector and was the leader of the Counter Terrorism Unit of Central Police. He appeared to have by then developed a friendly working relationship with then Chief Superintendent Derek Hilton. Between the events of Series 4 and Series 6, Osborne was promoted to Chief Constable of Central Police, having ascended into the senior executive level ranks after the events of Series 1.

## Series 1

### A Disastrous Affair

After members of the Strategic Firearms Command mistakenly gun down Kareem Ali as part of a failed counter terrorism raid, Osborne demands that they lie in court and claim Ali was acting in an aggressive manner towards them, which would justify the shooting. During the subsequent inquest at South Central Coroners Court, DS Steve Arnott refuses to take part in the cover up. Osborne physically intimidates him, before removing him from the Counter Terrorism unit, claiming "you're finished".

### The Probation

Osborne later appears at Kingsgate Station alongside Chief Superintendent Derek Hilton regarding the supposed terrorism angle of the killings on the Borogrove Estate. After a brief confrontation with DS Steve Arnott, he is addressed as "Philip" by Hilton and proceeds to his meeting.

Arnott later meets with him in order to express his views that the activities were not those of terrorists, but simply drug dealers, and that DCI Anthony Gates only dressed it up as such to draw attention away from himself. His concerns are ignored by Osborne, who he then accuses of covering up a similar mistake made during the shooting of Kareem Ali at the start of the series.

Osborne is later seen attending the inquest into the Karim Ali shooting at South Central Coroners Court where DS Steve Arnott is due to testify. The closing epilogue states that despite Arnott testifying against his colleagues no police officers have been prosecuted for their actions before, during or after the shooting of Karim Ali.

## Series 6

### Episode 2

Osborne is seen on archive footage from MN News, giving a brief statement to the press outside South Central Coroners Court during the inquest into the shooting of Karim Ali. The footage is being watched by Anti Corruption Unit 12 investigators Superintendent Ted Hastings, DI Steve Arnott and DC Chloe Bishop. Hastings remarks that that it is an "outrage" that the commanding officer of such a disastrous operation has now been "made Chief", which is the first on screen reference to the fact that Osborne is now Chief Constable.

### Episode 3

In unaired footage recorded by MN News sent to AC-12 by Haran Nadaraja, Osborne is seen being confronted outside of Pelbury House by Gail Vella. She questions him about statements he recently made about police recruitment, noting he misrepresented the numbers and Central Police is actually over 100 officers short of recruitment goals. Osborne retorts that he is not sure where she got her figures from, but Vella retorts that the figures came from police records themselves. Flustered, he storms into the building and other Patrol Unit officers close the door behind him, preventing her from entering.

### Episode 4

It is revealed by DCC Andrea Wise that Osborne intends to implement a radical re-structuring of the professional standards apparatus within Central Police. After consultation with his counterpart in the East Midlands Constabulary, it has been agreed that their AC-3 will be merged with AC-12 and AC-9 to create a single professional standards department to cover both forces in the Midlands region. It will be led by a Chief Superintendent, and the funding and manpower of the new unit will also be reduced by close to 90% compared to the current operating budgets. Officers working for the existing units may re-apply for the new unit, and many will be integrated into other CID positions. This decision is admonished by Superintendent Ted Hastings, who accuses Osborne of being a "bare faced liar" and capitulating to politics and the Organised Crime Group.

### Episode 5

Outside of Pelbury House, Osborne delivers a statement to the media that is broadcast by MN News and others. In his statement, he openly criticises the role of elected officials (such as the Police and Crime Commissioner) in modern policing, and laments how "bureaucrats" and overzealous professional standards officers such as AC-12 undermine daily policing and impact public trust. After the televised statement, PCC Rohan Sindwhani finds himself in an impossible position. He cannot fire Osborne, as this would alienate him from the rank and file officers within Central Police, but also refuses to continue supporting Osbornes crusade against anti-corruption, as he was elected as a reformer. He opts to resign his post, but not before informing Superintendent Ted Hastings of his reasoning.

Through research conducted by DC Chloe Bishop, it is revealed that Osborne has links to corrupt former DCI Marcus Thurwell and the death and subsequent coverup involving Lawrence Christopher in 2003. In the subsequent investigation into Christopher's death, he was an Inspector assigned to the case under Thurwell. It is made clear that Tommy Hunter and the Organised Crime Group intervened in the investigation causing it to be sabotaged, in order to protect Hunter's son Darren, who was one of the attackers. Another officer involved was then Detective Constable Ian Buckells. DI Steve Arnott notes that Osborne's involvement in the conspiracy renders him a potential beneficiary of the death of Gail Vella.

Wanting to fast track his proposed re-structuring of anti-corruption, Osborne has DCS Patricia Carmichael of the East Midlands Constabulary's AC-3 travel to the city, where he informs her she has been selected as the officer to lead the merged unit (which will cover both forces and merge AC-3, AC-12 and AC-9 into one unit, with significantly reduced funding). He appoints her as Senior Investigating Officer of AC-12's investigation into Operation Lighthouse, and Carmichael immediately shuts down the surveillance teams watching Ryan Pilkington, Joanne Davidson and Terry Boyle, stating her agreement with Osborne that it is using far too much of the budget.