One of the West Yorkshire force's most experienced officers, Detective Superintendent Malcolm Mawson is retiring after a 30-year police career which included the investigation of 37 murders.

Det Supt Mawson, 49, who lives in Silsden, investigated 56 suspicious deaths during his career. Two of the cases are still outstanding - the deaths of Amy Shepherd at Bradford in 1994 and seven-year-old Joe Edward McAfferty in a malicious fire at his home in Huddersfield last May. "Both are still open and 'live' investigations," says Det Supt Maw-son. "From the others, a variety of people are now serving life sentences.

"I am often asked to say which cases were particularly significant, but I have to say all murder inquiries are significant, both to me and to the relatives and people who knew the victims. It would be wrong to emphasise any particular case. Whoever they were and whatever they had done, no one deserves to be found in the circumstances in which we found them."

During his career, most of which was in Bradford, Det Supt Mawson ran a wide range of major inquiries including murders, armed robberies, drugs, shootings and rapes. He received 15 commendations.

Det Supt Mawson joined Bradford City Police as a cadet in 1965 after leaving Carlton Boys' School in Bradford. He entered the CID in 1970, and five years later went to the Regional Crime Squad. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1977, Inspector in 1983 and spent 1988 as head of CID at Keighley. He was promoted to Detective Chief Inspector in 1989 and became branch commander of the Regional Crime Squad at Leeds. Following promotion to Detective Superin-tendent in 1992 he was head of the major crimes units, and since 1993 has been senior investigations officer at Bradford.

Married with two grown-up children, Det Supt Mawson is a keen golfer. He is President and a former Captain of Silsden Golf Club, a member of Keighley Golf Club and Junior Vice President of the Bradford & District Union of Golf Clubs - of which he will be President in the year 2000.

He regularly finds time to caddie for Keighley professional golfer Mike Bradley, and carried his bag at last year's Open Championship at Royal Troon.

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