Sir Ian Blair, commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police Service, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Washington, D.C.-based Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).

“This is the first time in PERF’s nearly 30-year history, that a member of the Board has come from outside the United States," says PERF President William J. Bratton, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. “His appointment is the latest in a series of steps PERF has taken in recent years to increase collaboration with our British counterparts, with whom we share many of the same challenges, especially the threat of global terrorism."

Commissioner Blair was appointed to head the 47,000-strong Metropolitan Police Service in February 2005, after serving as the agency's deputy commissioner for five years. In that capacity he had primary responsibility for change management, anti-corruption work, diversity and information management. His career in policing spans more than three decades.

Blair said of his appointment, which expires in July 2007, that he looks forward to “working with some of the most progressive leaders in policing today on issues of concern to both our countries.”