The Royal Gibraltar Police has today announced promotions to the ranks of Inspector and Sergeant. These promotions follow the Gibraltar Police Authority’s approval of recommendations made by an Interview Board which consisted of representatives from the Police Service, HM Government of Gibraltar and the Gibraltar Police Authority.

Today’s promotions are especially significant as they include the promotion of Sgt Deborah Jones to the rank of Inspector. Debbie is the first female RGP officer ever to attain that rank.

Inspector Debbie Jones joined the RGP 20 years ago. Her aim, both then and now, is to help people. She started her RGP career on shift and then became an Authorised Firearms Officer. She worked on a number of operations with the Drug Squad and Criminal Investigation Department before joining the Police Support Unit and the All Arms Search Team. She then gained her skills as a Specialist Child Abuse Investigator working within the Neighbourhood Policing Unit, where she worked on developing a multi-agency approach, assisting in creating the Safeguarding Team. She was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 2009 and ran the Neighbourhood Unit and a High Visibility Unit. She has conducted many years as a Custody, Patrolling and Crown Sergeant for one of the Response Teams during which she passed an intense Initial Tactical Firearms Commander Course. In October 2020 she returned to the Safeguarding Team.

Inspector John De Los Santos joined the RGP in 2009 and spent the first two years of his career in an Area Response Team. He then transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department as a Detective Constable. Later in 2012, he was promoted to the Rank of Sergeant and returned to an Area Response Team for three years, undertaking duties as Station Officer, Custody and Patrolling which included 6 months in the Neighbourhood Policing Teams. In 2016, he was transferred to the File Preparation Unit and in 2017, to the Criminal Justice Unit, where he remained for the next three years. In 2020, he became the Detective Sergeant for the Criminal Investigation Department and in July that same year, he returned to the Operations Division Response Team and took over the role of Crown Sergeant.

Sergeant Lionel Gomez joined the RGP in 2017 and received the Best All Round Recruit award at the end of his Training School. He then served for two years on Area Response Teams, where he was the Patrol Car Driver, Patrol Van Driver, Motorcyclist and Gaoler. Additionally, he was also attached to the Traffic Division and Drug Squad. Lionel is also a specially trained Project Servator officer. In March 2019, he joined the Drug Squad and began undertaking Sergeant (Acting) duties in August 2020. More recently, he undertook a Personal Safety Training Instructor’s course and now forms part of the Police Personal Training Team.

Sergeant Jo Ullger joined Thames Valley Police in 2002 and served with them for 12 years. During her time in the UK she worked on shift, CID, and became involved in an operation tackling drugs crime in Reading. In 2005, she pursued her career as a Detective on the Child Abuse Investigation Unit including delivering training for newly qualified Detectives. In 2014, she moved back to Gibraltar to raise her family and in 2018 applied to join the RGP. Since joining the RGP she served as an officer on shift and is currently a Detective on the Safeguarding Team.

Commissioner of Police Richard Ullger said, ‘I congratulate each of these officers on their promotion because the standard of all the applicants was very high. However, today is an historic day for the RGP and I particularly wish to congratulate Deborah Jones on becoming the RGP’s first female Inspector. In no sense was this a token promotion - she was well deserving of the advancement. However, it does send a signal to other female officers that I want to change the culture of this organisation by making it more inclusive and more diverse.

‘Well done to all four officers.’