He was 25 years old. His father, Stan, was an engineer, and his mom, Pat, had dinner at St Mary’s RC Secondary School in Stratford, even when Morrissey was a student. There was no copper history in the family, but the Greater Manchester Police fit like a hand in a glove as a career move.
It began with the Swindon Police Department, the year after Salford had witnessed civil unrest with gunfire against police and firefighters, council buildings and vehicles set on fire, and tensions between Dibble and a hostile minority. However, when he joined the fine blue line, he prospered.
READ MORE: The gang boss was plotting the underworld to dismantle the criminal enemy within the penitentiary system Now, as Chief of Staff, he has been in charge of Cheshire Police for a year, during which time the 22,000 who have not been dealt with in the crimes he inherited have been cut in half. He is also the leader of the National Police for football, hence the flag of Ajax, the scarf of Real Sociedad, and a box comment posted on the internet by Russian hooligans about him in his office. He has already paid a visit to Qatar to advise police and security chiefs ahead of the World Cup in November, and will make visits during the tournament. At home, it is working with the government for tougher legislation, as drug use fuels the rise of football violence. Mark Roberts, Cheshire Police Chief (Image: Manchester Evening News) “We reviewed the semester at Christmas and the disorder in the games increased by 36%, including quite serious violence,” he said. “It has started to run. What people think is a problem solved takes the focus away a bit. I have a season ticket to the Etihad and I go with my daughter, I always went to football, I’m not against football. “But there is rocket fire, fireworks, more young people involved in violence, and we have seen a real increase after the lockdown. I think we have seen more violence, anti-social behavior in society in general. “Football tends to magnify what is happening in society. We have done business all over the country. For example, Grimsby fans who travel to Notts County and have large followers, this is what you see in non-league football. You have children. 12 year olds going to outdoor games, hooding with the elderly.Some of the videos we see there are very young children “Alcohol is still a big issue, but we’ve done a lot of drug-stopping businesses, working with the British transport police, and when we do, people throw drugs left and right and in the center. Cocaine use is quite widespread in society now. and this is in Alcohol and cocaine tend to highlight negative behavior. “We have a lot of discussions with the Home Office about including drugs in football ban legislation. I hope the government will support it. This would mean that anyone caught with Class A drugs in a match would receive a restraining order. “If you are caught with cocaine, it is probably a fine – if you are caught in a football match and you get a ban, that will probably be a bigger deterrent. The point is to make it safe for the majority of fans.” Read more related articles Read more related articles
“I have to have a relationship with the Russians – and Qatar”
At the age of 54, leader Con Roberts took over his current position on April 24 last year. But it was preceded by an already stellar career. He has been with the GMP for 21 years, was promoted to commander of the Trafford Division, and led a trade union of the GMP Large Research Team and led the North West Counterterrorism Unit, earning three accolades. He joined the Cheshire Police in 2014 as Assistant Chief of Police and his three-year tenure coincided with a 25-year low of recorded crime as he led a neighborhood police restructuring, described as “excellent” for engagement and resolution. In 2017 he moved to the South Yorkshire Police Department as Deputy Chief of Police, where Stephen Watson, now GMP Chief of Staff, was in charge at the time. Between them they transferred this power from “a dark place” of scandal and failure to the most improved power for three consecutive years. Cheshire police chief Mark Roberts, who is the leader in football policing, spoke to Qatari police chiefs ahead of the World Cup in November. But his life began on a Stratford borough. “My dad was a good engineer, he worked at Trafford Park all his life as a tool maker. Mom was the lady for dinner at St Mary’s, her claim to fame was that she was the mistress of Morrissey’s dinner. “I grew up in Stratford, went to Urmston Grammar and went to Keele University, where Priti Patel went. I never met her, I think I was just before her. I did international relations that were interesting, politics and history I never thought would be so useful in policing, but in fact it turned out to be very useful. “I worked in counter-terrorism for a while and ended up dealing with a lot of different countries – and then policing football.” He is impressively diplomatic when asked if England should play in Qatar, given its human rights issues, the heat and far from established football origins. “This is a matter for FIFA … they decided to give it to Russia (2016) and Qatar. I went to the Foreign Affairs Committee and people always want you to have an opinion, but my opposition was that this does not happen in a bubble . “I have to go and have a relationship with the Russians. You may have an opinion on this regime, but it is not for me to express in a conference room in Westminster what I think about Russian society and then get up there and say hello, we can work together. “Likewise with Qatar, the decision has been made. I have already left once and I will probably go again before the tournament starts. We need to work effectively with them.” Read more related articles Read more related articles He has climbed to the top but his roots keep him down. “You’re sitting on a Select Committee on Foreign Affairs or a Cobra meeting and you think I was walking around Salford with a big hat on, how did I get here?” He came to the police station relatively late. “I was married, 25 years old, I had a mortgage to pay and I was fired, not great, but I had seen a little life. Joining at 25 was better than becoming 18. I started in Swinton in Salford which was a really great introduction. “You end up wandering on the ground with people who did not object to fighting, but at that time I was playing rugby, it was quite an apprenticeship. “But in general the people in Salford are very simple, so it was good, and I had an inspector who was really supportive and I worked hard, I closed more people than anyone else.” During his early days he was posted to the Moss Side for a “trial purchase” – police say he went undercover to buy drugs. He ended up in Operation Balboa – which targeted the Doddington gang – buying heroin and cocaine. “I do not think I would fit in properly, deep down, maybe because I was always told I looked like a policeman. But yes, I did not shave, I looked a little more sloppy and I bathed in the Boddingtons. A colleague, Tony Brett (Detective Supt), said, “You definitely smell authentic.” During the operation he had to face a difficult moment when he was asked by a target if he was a police officer. “I said ‘no’, I think they had a misunderstanding that if they asked you if you were a cop you had to tell the truth. His tenure as commander of the Trafford Division from 2009-14 was the culmination of his career. “That was interesting as a young man from Stratford, going to school in Urmston, it was probably the proudest thing I’ve ever been, when I came back and was in charge of your mansion. My mom was alive and still living there at the time. ” He says. Cheshire captain Mark Roberts in Moscow during the 2018 World Cup
Beating the Men in Black
Asked what qualities are needed to be a good copper at any level, he says: “Common sense, you have to be able to talk to people and work hard. I’m saying it in recruitment now. I think policing is meritocracy – if you work hard, do the work, you can go on. “At my parade in Bruche (Warrington), which was the area’s old training center, it was Sir Jim Sharples, the Merseyside leader, who did it. He said “policing is a great career, you can do whatever you want, you can become a chief of staff one day” and I thought “yes, ok boss” – because my ambition was to become a sergeant detective. “ Chief Con Roberts has been the leader of the National Police for football since 2014. This came after his tenure as Trafford manager where he worked with Manchester United. “When I first started at Trafford, United were really successful then. I grew up as a Blues in Stratford when City were awful, so it was not a lot of fun. to be fair United was very good to work with. Cheshire Chief Mark Roberts in the Operations Room at Power Headquarters (Image: Manchester Evening News) “Ken Ramsden was the secretary at the time and he was an absolute master. I took it on. My thought was that he was in my department, I do not want to come on Monday morning and football is wrong, and I’re going to pick up the flake. “My team and I did it. We were very proud of it. At that time we had a big risk group and we were chasing them (The Men In Black) with ban orders. We had over a hundred ban orders in them. We treated it like a criminal group. We did everything from writing them down to …
