Superintendent John Heaton    played by Daniel Flynn

First appearance    # 421 (22/06/06)    

Superintendent John Heaton is a man of integrity who will stand by his principles. Before being stationed at Sun Hill, he was a DCI at the Specialist Crime Directorate. As well as being opinionated and direct, he’s a charismatic and strong leader (others may say cold and arrogant) and a bit of a workaholic too. John is intent on taking charge and turning Sun Hill station around; he doesn't believe results can be obtained with 'liberal policing'. He will make an immediate impact bringing a new Zero Tolerance approach, because - to his mind - criminals have been getting away with it for far too long. Heaton believes that if you break the law you should expect the police to be coming after you – no matter what level you operate at.

Some of the relief have the cynical view that Heaton’s just asserting his authority to secure some good arrest statistics and advance his own career, and doubt his loyalty to Sun Hill. Heaton may be stamping down his authority but, to his mind, to a good end - he’s putting criminals through the justice system. He believes people can be prevented from becoming bigger offenders by being punished for the low-level crimes they commit.

Heaton tends to keep his private life to himself - he's a family man at heart though, spending much of his time caring for his daughter with Down's Syndrome. However, a recent split from his wife has resulted in a number of subsequent misguided affairs.