Gibraltar police commissioner attends UK national policing conference in London

Gibraltar's Commissioner of Police, Owain Richards, participated in the annual gathering of the UK National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) in London last week.

The event brought together senior policing leaders from across the United Kingdom and the wider British family of law enforcement agencies to discuss current challenges and future priorities facing modern policing.

The conference provided Commissioner Richards with a valuable opportunity to hear first-hand about forthcoming changes to the governance of police forces in England and Wales. He participated in plenary sessions focused on best practice in contemporary policing, with key themes including national approaches to reducing violence against women and girls, strengthening community safety, digital data and technology and officer and staff well-being.

Also attending the event was Samantha Sacramento in her capacity as Chair of the Working Group on reform of police governance in Gibraltar. Both Gibraltar representatives took the opportunity to exchange views with police chiefs and officials from other jurisdictions, with discussions centering on comparative models of accountability and governance and how these may inform future work in support of effective and transparent policing for Gibraltar.

At the conclusion of the conference, Commissioner Richards participated in a series of engagement meetings at Gibraltar House with HM Government of Gibraltar's representative in London. He also held separate discussions with the chiefs of police from the UK Crown Dependencies at the States of Jersey offices in London.