UK criminal gangs major threat to Isle of Man's safety, police say

Retired Chief Constable Gary Roberts has written his final annual report

The threats posed by criminal gangs in the UK on the Isle of Man is the most important issue facing public safety, a former chief constable has said.

Gary Roberts made the comments in his final annual report before he retired.

He said: "This issue and how it leads to the exploitation of young and vulnerable people is the most important one affecting public safety."

Despite this, the report showed the island remained the safest place to live in the UK.

While, the Isle of Man was "a supremely safe place", the "threats to that safety posed by criminal groups from Liverpool and other parts of the United Kingdom" were considerable, Mr Roberts said.

He added he was "encouraged" that a new community "safety partnership" was now in place.

£1.9m drugs seized

Key figures reported from the 2022 to 2023 year showed that £1.9m worth of drugs had been seized, the biggest haul the force had seen in a 12-month period.

There were also drops in crime relating to offensive weapons, which was down 14%.

However there was a 21% rise in theft and kindred offences.

Mental health demands had also risen by 14%, estimated to have required the equivalent of between 12 and 14 full-time police officers.

Mr Roberts said: "Officers spend as much time dealing with issues caused by poor mental health, or by complex vulnerability, or on other safeguarding work, as they do on crime."

Internal pressures

Mr Roberts said that while organised crime was an "external priority", the Manx force was facing tough challenges internally.

"The impact of high levels of inflation on police officers" meant that a number could not "afford to live properly".

"Police pay has fallen by almost 20% in the last decade", he said, adding that some officers had "used foodbanks, some could not afford presents at Christmas for their children and others had to sell their homes".

He said two "two middle service sergeants left" for jobs elsewhere, something he described as "highly unusual" and supported "emerging fears that pay, conditions of service and the increasingly heavy demands faced by officers will make the retention of officers more difficult".

Mr Roberts said without swift action it "could easily become a police retention crisis".

A working party on police pay is working to address the issues.