Governor George Fergusson has praised police officers Paul Simons and Steve Nurse, who have been promoted to Inspector.

In a brief statement, the Governor noted that two recent murder convictions highlighted the work done to work against gang violence and build community relations.

“Not all the underlying problems relating to gangs have disappeared — sadly, far from it — but good progress has certainly been made,” he said.

“I have seen myself community interaction with the police, including in difficult contexts, which would be the envy of many police services. And the interaction of police and other public and voluntary agencies in the work of diverting people from gang activity and stopping gang violence before it happens has grown impressively.

“These issues are not finished with. There remains a lot to do. But it is good that some resources can increasingly be moved — in response to a clear need and to public demand — towards priorities such as, particularly, road safety.”