Police have public's confidence - outgoing chief

Ruari Hardy took up the police chief post in 2019

Guernsey’s outgoing police chief is hopeful he has left the force in better shape than when he took up the post, but has admitted it could be better resourced.

Ruari Hardy, the bailiwick's Head of Law Enforcement, will step down at the end of the month after more than five years at the helm.

In an outgoing interview, he told the BBC that he had maintained public confidence since being in charge and left behind a "phenomenal team who do difficult work".

He said: "We have to deal with a huge cross-section of work, but the majority of people that live here have confidence in policing and trust and our borders and our public services seeking to deliver the best we can to our community."

'A very local force'

While the force had "continued to sustain investigative capacity", he admitted more investment would ensure police could "respond as quickly as possible" to legislative change.

"We are part of Guernsey PLC and we fully understand the pressures on government around financing, and I am sure my successor with understanding that complexity as he takes up his role," he said.

Successes cited under his tenure have included improvements to conviction rates for sex and trafficking offences.

"The number of offenders in prison for serious sexual offences shows the force has responded to that national need to deal better to sexual offence allegations, and we as an organisation have invested heavily," he said.

Crime prevention had also been tackled through better policing of the night-time economy and engagement with schools on online harms, Mr Hardy said.

He said: “We are a very local police force but very attuned to the national bigger picture, so my successor is coming into an organisation that works tremendously hard in the interests of the community."

Mr Hardy has served for 40 years in policing, having joined the Metropolitan Police cadet corps in 1984 and Guernsey Police in 2002.

He said he was moving to another public service role on the island.

Damian Kitchen from Lancashire Constabulary has been named as his successor.