Police Chief: 'Bar will not be lowered for local officers'

However, Senator Ian Le Marquand stressed that promising Islanders would be given the support, training and experience they needed to be eligible to become either the chief or deputy chief officer.

And he insisted that the parachuting in of senior policemen from the UK was being reviewed to give greater opportunity to home-grown talent.

The minister made the comments in response to a report on police succession-planning by backbenchers sitting on the Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny panel.