Now that the festive period is upon us, it is time to pause, draw breath and reflect on what has been an incredible journey for Gibraltar - and for the Royal Gibraltar Police.

This year, the force has faced many challenges and, as a modern 21st century police service, we have faced up to those challenges and, in a large measure, we have dealt with them.

However, nothing could have prepared us for the unprecedented impact Covid-19 would have on us as a community. It has not been easy to police the measures implemented by regulations intended to protect our vulnerable and over 70’s and I am extremely grateful to my Command for their strategic planning and to our officers for their patience and tenacity when implementing these regulations.

Having adopted the National Police Chief Council’s [NPCC] 4E’s, I am proud of the way in which we Engaged with the public, Encouraged people to abide to the regulations, Explained to them the need to protect others and as a last resort, the way in which we Enforced the regulations.

In the midst of policing Covid-19, our officers have continued to police and investigate crimes and it is clear that there have been plenty of examples of policing at its finest and toughest. The quality, dedication and sometimes sheer bravery of our people, be it police officers or our support staff, and of the people we come into contact with, is just incredible.  So very often, great work can go unnoticed and unremarked, but we have commended our people during the year and we are extremely proud of their achievements. Examples of these have been commendations for investigations that have resulted in convictions for robbery, joint operations with other nations in the fight against drugs, financial crime and people smuggling.  There have been other commendations to courageous officers who have saved the lives of vulnerable people.  Additionally, as an organisation, we were awarded a recognition by GibSams for the improvement we made internally to address mental health issues by providing support to both our officers and staff. This has been a long journey, but we are extremely proud of the framework we have established.

We have always been a force that works well under pressure and the recent HMICFRS inspection has allowed us to focus on areas where we need to improve our service delivery. This has not been easy due to the impact Covid-19 has had on our policing footprint, but a lot of work has been undertaken to improve our code of ethics, the way in which we deal with victims of crime and the manner in which we tackle that most abhorrent of crimes - domestic abuse. Good leadership is also important to us and we are striving to ensure that every officer in the RGP is a leader in his or her own right. We have worked in partnership with subject matter experts and collaborated with other police forces in the UK to achieve this.

Having been appointed as Commissioner of Police in July this year, I have seen these improvements brought about by these changes, knowing that they were only possible because of the hardworking team of people willing to make that change for the better. It comes down to providing the very best response to victims of crime in their time of crisis, but also providing for a Safer Gibraltar, through Excellence in Policing.

The festive period this year will be very different to anything we have ever experienced before and it will be a time when the complexities and challenges of life and humanity are often magnified. Our police officers and support staff who will be on duty throughout this period will be away from their families providing a service dealing with these issues and I would ask you all to spare a thought for them.

So, finally, I will close by saying that I hope that for all of us, but especially those on duty, the Christmas festive period is both safe and peaceful.