Cheshire Chief Constable Mark Roberts is retiring on November 5, despite the force ranking top nationally for crime outcomes, after his request to extend his contract was refused. His departure has exposed a tetchy relationship with the county's police and crime commissioner, Dan Price.
Contract extension refused
Mr Roberts, who has served five and a half years as Chief Constable, had hoped to negotiate an extension that would have taken him to 2028. In a leaked letter to Cheshire police and crime panel chairman Coun Judy Snowball, he stated he did not initially want to retire and that his decision came after Mr Price refused his request to extend his contract beyond April 2027.
The letter, leaked by an unknown source and later posted on Facebook, states: “I understand it may have been conveyed the decision to retire was entirely my own and taken independently. In February this year I wrote to the commissioner seeking an extension to my current contract, which is due to expire by May 2027.”
It continues: “The commissioner subsequently informed me that he would not be extending my contract beyond its current end date which meant that my preferred option of continuing in role beyond May 2027 would not be available.”
Commissioner's response
In a statement issued earlier this month, Mr Price said: “The chief constable’s contract ends in April 2027 and his request for an extension could have only been for a further 12 months, in line with police regulations.” He added that the decision to retire was “his own”.
Mr Roberts said in the press release announcing his retirement: “I had hoped to take the force through to 2028, but the decision has been made to take the force in a different direction.” He added in his letter: “It would not be accurate to suggest that retirement, particularly on this timetable, was my preferred outcome when in fact I was fully committed and enthusiastic about leading the force into the coming years.”
A career in policing
Mr Roberts joined Greater Manchester Police in 1993 aged 25, after working for the Co-operative Society. His career has spanned from street violence in Pendlebury to internationally delicate negotiations to rescue a girl kidnapped from Leigh by an ex US Marine. More recently, a prolific gang of Albanian burglars were taken out by Cheshire police.
He was also a Detective Chief Inspector in the case of Toby Studebaker, who groomed an 11-year-old girl from Leigh online and fled with her to Europe in 2003. After a four-day international search involving GMP, the FBI, and European authorities, the girl returned to the UK, and Studebaker was arrested by German police in Frankfurt on 16 July 2003.
He was with GMP for 21 years, rising to commander for the Trafford division, and was Head of Investigations at the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, earning three commendations. In 2014 he joined Cheshire police as an Assistant Chief Constable, and in 2017 moved to South Yorkshire Police as Deputy Chief Constable. He became Chief Constable of Cheshire in 2021.
Future plans
Since 2014, he has also been the national lead for football policing, overseeing many football tournaments, including the 2026 Fifa World Cup. He will continue to run the senior command course for aspiring Assistant Chief Constables next year.
“I have been in charge of the assessment centres for the last couple of years and have been able to bring the pass mark down from 100 percent to 60 to try and get some quality,” he said. “It is a good course but I want to bring some more practical case studies in so people are better prepared for the stuff they have to deal with.”
