Leadership of retiring Isle of Man chief constable praised

Gary Roberts joined the Isle of Man Constabulary in 1984

The Isle of Man's outgoing chief constable has been praised for his "great leadership".

Gary Roberts is retiring from the most senior role in the Isle of Man Constabulary after a decade in the position.

It brings to an end his career with the Manx police after almost 39 years.

Minister for Justice and Home Affairs Jane Poole-Wilson said: "Our island owes an incredible thanks to Gary for the dedicated and exemplary service."

During his time in service, Mr Roberts has overseen a number of high profile incidents on the island, most recently the police's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

'Service and honesty'

He was was the first Manxman to be appointed to the position, and also became the first chief constable since World War Two to face cuts to the police budget, when the service was required to save £1m in spending over two years, leading to a reduction in officers about 10 years ago.

Ms Poole-Wilson said: "There have been unprecedented changes, on Island and globally, since Gary first began his career in policing.

"He has approached all of those challenges pragmatically, with great leadership - shaping our Constabulary to the benefit of all of our residents and visitors."

During his time in policing, which began in 1984, Mr Roberts has been awarded the BEM, the Queen's Police Medal for exemplary service and this year received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Isle of Man Police Awards ceremony.

Chief Officer of the Department of Home Affairs Dan Davies, said Mr Roberts had "consistently demonstrated the values that he still expects of police officers joining the constabulary today".

"That is, caring, humility, service and honesty," he added.

His successor Russ Foster is due to take over in the position next week.