Superintendent Alison Fossey has been appointed to the role and is hoping to inspire other female officers.
Mrs Fossey, who joined the force in 2002, has held the title on a temporary basis for the past two years but will now take the community-based role on permanently.
As part of her job on the senior management team Mrs Fossey will oversee community policing, crime investigations, the custody suite, the communications centre, firearms and learning and development.
Although female officers account for around one third of the force, Mrs Fossey hopes her new role will inspire women to seize opportunities for more senior positions. ‘Female representation is important at any level and while there are lots of officers at inspector grade, hopefully some will be inspired to try to push themselves higher up the chain.’
Following a recruitment drive last year, Mrs Fossey said she was ‘really proud’ to be heading the force’s uniformed services.
She added: ‘I am excited to continue the opportunity to shape the service we offer to the public. Policing throughout the pandemic has presented lots of challenges but we want to continue to do our best to keep the public safe.
‘There is a lot of work going on in the force’s response side of policing which I’m delighted to now be leading.’
Chief of police Robin Smith said he was confident Mrs Fossey’s promotion would inspire others to follow in her footsteps.
He added: ‘She has enormous credibility, is hugely knowledgeable in both uniformed and detective roles and will be instrumental in the delivery of our strategic priorities, ensuring we continue to deliver the high-class policing service the Island knows and rightly expects.’
Mrs Fossey will also act as deputy chief officer on a rotational basis with Det Supt Stewart Gull, who currently holds the role.
