In November 2003, he was promoted to Assistant Chief Constable.[9] His responsibilities originally included local policing, crime reduction and criminal justice, but in 2005 his role changed and he became responsible for major and organised crime.[15] He was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in 2007.[15] He served as temporary Chief Constable of Surrey Police from March 2008.[9] He was appointed Chief Constable of the force in March 2009.[12] From 2009 to 2011, he was a member of the Association of Chief Police Officers Cabinet.[13]
Shortly after assuming office, he oversaw the security operation of the state funeral of Elizabeth II, the largest security operation ever mounted in the UK.[25] In May 2023, he oversaw the coronation of Charles III and Camilla.[26] On 7 November 2023, he refused to ban the pro-Palestinian march in London,[27] saying that the organisers of the march had shown "complete willingness to stay away from the Cenotaph and Whitehall and have no intention of disrupting the nation's remembrance events".[28]
In April 2024, Rowley faced calls to resign after Met officers described Campaign Against Antisemitism CEO Gideon Falter as "openly Jewish" during a request for him to move away from a pro-Palestinian protest. Some members of the Metropolitan Police suspected that Falter was looking for confrontation with the protesters, which Falter denies,[29] and was seeking to catch out the Met Police.[30] Rowley admitted that some of the words exchanged were "clumsy and offensive", but stated that the officers actions were "professional".[31] Following the incident Rowley reportedly had the "full confidence" of then Home Secretary James Cleverly and London Mayor Sadiq Khan[30] but Prime MinisterRishi Sunak said Rowley needed to regain “confidence and trust” with the Jewish community and also had to persuade the public that officers in future will not “[tolerate] behaviour that we would all collectively deem unacceptable” in order to retain his support.[29]
A Sky News reporter asked Rowley in August 2024 about posts made by Elon Musk. Rowley responded: "We will throw the full force of the law at people and whether you're in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online we will come after you."[34]
_(cropped)_-_Sir_Mark_Rowley.jpg)
