Chief Constable rebuffs 'woke' claims: 'I would rather rely on the advice and support from specialists in the field'
Picture credit: Isle of Man Constabulary
Russ Foster responds to former MHK's comments on armed policing tactics
The chief constable has rebuked suggestions that making armed police officers more visible on the Isle of Man indicates a shift to so-called 'woke' policing.
The comments from Russ Foster come in response to opinions shared by former MHK Chris Robertshaw on Manx Radio's Perspective programme on Sunday (14 September).
You can catch up on the full programme HERE.
Mr Robertshaw made the comments as part of a wider conversation with our political correspondent Phil Gawne regarding the development of government policy on the Isle of Man.
He critiqued what he deemed as 'quite a few of our senior civil servants coming [to the Island] from away', bringing 'UK thinking' into their approach to work.
The former MHK then used the chief constable as an example of someone who had brought 'the UK mindset to the Isle of Man':
"I was shocked when the new chief constable from across came over and seemed in a public sense to be preoccupied with the idea of 'we have to manifest an evidence of gun carrying policemen'. And I'm thinking 'no we don't, that's not how the Isle of Man works'. And he said on Manx Radio on an early interview 'I don't want to be the chief constable who got that wrong and something happens', well, you know, how often do we have gun issues on the Isle of Man?
...The current mindset of chief constables in the UK has gone sort of 'woke'." - Chris Robertshaw, appearing on Perspective, September 2025
Mr Robertshaw made reference in his comments to one of Mr Foster's appearances on Manx Radio's Mannin Line programme in October 2024:
During that appearance, the chief constable revealed that upon taking up his role, he had commissioned a review into the capability and capacity of armed policing on the Island, which revealed that on average, it took those specialist officers '48 minutes' to attend incidents which fitted the criteria.
He said that response time was unacceptable and affirmed that he 'made no apologies' for 'increasing the visibility, the accessibility and the responsiveness of those armed officers'.
Mr Foster also highlighted high profile incidents which have taken place in the UK which evidence that communities at a low-risk of serious incidents are 'not immune', saying 'low-risk does not mean no-risk'.
"There are examples such as Cumbria - the massacres perpetrated by a chap called Derrick Bird - there was the Raoul Moat incident over in Northumbria, the incident over in Devon, whereby an individual shot dead five people. These aren't your big city areas of Manchester, of Leeds, of Bradford, of London, of Birmingham. They're leafy suburbs. We're not immune. - Chief Constable Russ Foster, appearing on Mannin Line, October 2024
Manx Radio approached the Isle of Man Constabulary for a response to Mr Robertshaw's comments this week.
RESPONSE
In a statement, a spokesperson reiterated what Mr Foster said last year during that appearance on Mannin Line.
They said: "The Chief Constable commissioned a review by an experienced Specialist Firearms Commander of the intelligence and information to inform a strategic threat, harm and risk assessment (STRA) in relation to the capability and capacity of Armed Policing, within the unique context of the Isle of Man. It was established that the time taken to deploy Authorised Firearms Officers to an incident which met the strict deployment criteria, as set out in the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice (APP) for Armed Policing was woefully inadequate.
"The STRA informed the Chief Constable’s decision to reposition the capability of Authorised Firearms Officers to be more forward facing, enabling them to respond to protect the public in a timelier fashion.
"It is incumbent upon the Chief Constable to safeguard the public from such prevailing threats, and an average response time of 48 minutes was deemed wholly unacceptable.
"It must also be noted that the Chief Constable has obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, to provide a safe system of work for officers. There have previously been numerous examples where officers were deployed to deal with such threats in an unarmed capacity, which was in clear contravention of the APP for Armed Policing and furthermore unnecessarily exposed officers to unmitigated risks."
"I am puzzled by the former MHK’s inference that to enhance the effective and efficient deployment of Authorised Firearms Officers is indicative of ‘woke’ policing and as the chief constable I would argue that the contrary is true." - Chief Constable Russ Foster
The chief constable also responded to Manx Radio.
Mr Foster said: "Whilst the former MHK is entitled to his own opinion in terms of Armed Policing, as the Chief Constable I would rather rely on the advice and support from specialists in the field of Armed Policing, to inform my decision making and in so doing, minimise the risk to the public and maximise the safety of our officers.
"The commentary from the former MHK emphasises the importance of why the Office of Chief Constable has the autonomy to exercise ‘operational Independence’ when making operational decisions, which must remain unfettered from political interference."
He added: "I am puzzled by the former MHK’s inference that to enhance the effective and efficient deployment of Authorised Firearms Officers is indicative of ‘woke’ policing and as the Chief Constable I would argue that the contrary is true."
MORE ON THIS STORY
The Isle of Man Constabulary is also 'inviting the public' to listen back to an extended interview Manx Radio conducted with Superintendent Danny Rotchell and Inspector Paul Kemp from September 2024, titled, ‘Armed Officers on the Isle of Man’, in which the deployment of visibly armed officers is explained.
You can find that HERE.
The above report is available in audio format in our latest Newscast, available now:
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