York police commander retires

Superintendent Mark Khan, the Policing Commander for the York and Selby area, retires today following a career which has seen him devote almost three decades of service to policing.

Supt Khan joined North Yorkshire Police as an Inspector in 2006, following 11 years of service at neighbouring force Humberside Police. His initial posting was as the Neighbourhood Policing Inspector for York City Centre. 

Following promotion to Chief Inspector in 2011, he was responsible for several key portfolios which included race and diversity, safer neighbourhood policing and hate crime.

Five years later, Mark Khan was promoted to Superintendent. One of his first taskings was to develop and implement the force’s Digital Forensic Unit. He then went on to manage the force’s Partnership Hub and as part of this role he was one of the leads on the force’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2021, He became Operational Commander for the York and Selby areas delivering policing across the two districts with a combined population of over 300,000 people.

Mark Khan has always been a key advocate of positive action within the force. For many years he held the position of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion lead for North Yorkshire Police. His passion and enthusiasm for this subject has been paramount in shaping the force’s culture.

Superintendent Fran Naughton will take over as Commander for the two areas.

Supt Naughton was previously Head of Crime for North Yorkshire Police after transferring to North Yorkshire from West Yorkshire Police in April 2019.

North Yorkshire Police Chief Constable, Lisa Winward, commented:

“Mark has been a committed public servant with a passion to keep our communities safe. He has undertaken a number of challenging roles as a valued member of the leadership team in North Yorkshire Police and will be missed by his colleagues. We wish him all the very best for a happy, healthy and long retirement and success in his new endeavours”.