PSNI appoints new deputy chief constable

The recommendation of the appointment panel was unanimously ratified by the Northern Ireland Policing Board and was approved by Justice Minister Naomi Long.

Currently assistant chief constable, Mr Singleton joined the PSNI as one of its first student officers in November 2001.

He replaces Mark Hamilton, who announced his retirement in September.

Announcing the appointment, Policing Board chair Mukesh Sharma said: “I am pleased to confirm that Bobby Singleton has been appointed as the new deputy chief constable of the PSNI.

“We look forward to working with him in this key position of support to the chief constable. ”

He said the appointment process was progressed on “the key principles of merit, fairness, openness and transparency”.

Welcoming the appointment, PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said: “I very much want to congratulate Bobby on his appointment as the next deputy chief constable of the PSNI.

“I am personally really delighted to welcome him to his new role. This is great news for the PSNI. Bobby is dedicated to policing in Northern Ireland and he brings a wealth of knowledge, skill, leadership and experience to the job.

“He is already a key member of our leadership team having joined the PSNI in the first intake of recruits after its formation.

“Like myself, I know that Bobby truly understands the importance and responsibility that comes with this role and what a privilege it is to be a part of this organisation. This is a super appointment.”

Mr Boutcher added: “I also want to take the opportunity to pay tribute to former Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton who retires from policing later this year. Mark has spent 30 years of his life working to make the people of Northern Ireland safe. I wish him well for his retirement.

“Additionally, I want to especially thank Chris Todd for undertaking the role as my T/deputy chief constable for the past 12 months. Chris’s support has been invaluable to me and the entire team, and his leadership through a number of key challenges, especially the data breach, in the past year has been exceptional.

“It is great news for the PSNI and for Northern Ireland that Chris will remain a key member of the PSNI’s senior team working with Bobby and I, and the rest of the team. We are fortunate to have such outstanding  people throughout the organisation.”

Mr Singleton has a broad range of policing experience in uniform community policing roles, public order and public safety command and as a detective investigating sexual violence, terrorism and other serious and organised crime.

Between 2014 and 2016 as a superintendent he was responsible for leading the delivery of community policing services for the city of Belfast and as a firearms and public order commander a series of complex and challenging multi-agency operations.

From April 2016 to May 2019, then a detective superintendent, Mr Singleton was the service’s lead for drugs, organised crime and the then newly established ‘Paramilitary Crime Task Force’ with the National Crime Agency and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

On promotion to detective chief superintendent he was first appointed as head of the PSNI’s Legacy Investigation Branch in May 2019 before taking up a role as the head of Headquarters Executive Support in October 2020.

In March 2021, Mr Singleton was appointed T/assistant chief constable and head of the Community Safety Department responsible for public protection, crime prevention, criminal justice and custody matters.

In December 2021, he graduated from the Strategic Command Course before being substantively appointed to assistant chief constable by the Northern Ireland Policing Board in January 2022.

Mr Singleton holds a degree in modern history as well as a post graduate diploma and masters in police leadership and management. He is chair of the Police Athletic Association, a member of the Newforge Community Development trust and senior sponsor for the service’s autism support group.