Early in his career, Malcom served for 6 years with the Royal Marines. This included 3 years in the Maritime Counter Terrorist squadron which played a key role in the UK’s national military response to protect its offshore installations and shipping against terrorist threats. During this period, he gained numerous specialisms, including as a ship’s diver, parachutist and unarmed combat instructor.
Upon leaving the Royal Marines in 1994, Malcolm embarked upon a policing career with Kent Police. He quickly qualified as a trainer while working as a frontline officer and then moved to high profile investigations as part of the Major Crime Unit and Serious Crime Units where covert tactics play a central role. Malcolm then left Kent Police for a secondment to the National Crime Squad where he worked with one of the busiest squad offices in the UK. In 2006, he then played an important part in the development of the Serious Organised Crime Agency. Already qualified as a firearms officer, medic and surveillance specialist, Malcolm had the opportunity to play a major role in the introduction of digital surveillance photography into the criminal investigation evidence chain, also conducting a disclosure role with his team in complex conspiracy cases.
As one of only a handful of agency coordinators for specialist rural surveillance operatives in the South of England, Malcolm was able to greatly improve the quality of the surveillance equipment employed by working closely with external agencies and managing expenditure on equipment, significantly raising standards in operational practice in the process. This role also involved leading covert operations which required in-depth sensitive briefings to multiple stakeholders as well as careful resource management. During this period, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) were starting to impact on these processes and were being deployed in limited roles.
With the creation of the National Crime Agency in 2013, Malcolm became part of the first UK national dedicated armed surveillance unit during which time his extensive subject-matter expertise and experience as an operative were often called upon, including by the policing training department. This included on drone related topics, such as their increased deployment by search teams, and their associated advantages to other roles including within the training environment. During this period, he also delivered numerous presentations to international partners and case studies at national policing conferences.
Malcolm remained operational until his retirement from policing in 2020, after which he joined GSDM as an associate. In his spare time, he coaches a number of local football teams and is himself a drone hobbyist.
