Superintendent Paul Chipolina, RGP Head of Operations, this week participated in the complex policing operation for the memorial events marking the 20th anniversary of the 7/7 London Terrorist Attack (7th July 2005). The operation saw officers from the Metropolitan, City of London and British Transport Police forces, deployed across several locations in London, particularly Hyde Park and St Paul's Cathedral. 

Mr Chipolina was hosted by the City of London Police in his role as Strategic (Gold) Commander, as part of the Command Team overseeing an extensive operation at St Paul's Cathedral. This memorial service brought together survivors, victims’ families, members of the Royal Family, UK Cabinet Ministers, former Prime Ministers and foreign Ambassadors based in the UK. Supt Chipolina's deployment is part of an ongoing requirement to maintain both occupational and operational competence in one of his Gold Commander accreditations. 

Since his promotion to Superintendent in April 2024, Mr Chipolina has overseen all major public events in Gibraltar as part of a wider portfolio of responsibilities. In that period, he has also travelled to the UK to completed Strategic (Gold) Command courses in various policing disciplines, and separately joined Event Command Teams at South Wales Police (Wales v South Africa Rugby), City of London Police (Lord Mayor's Parade in London), and Thames Valley Police (Tier 2 & 3 football matches). 

Supt Chipolina said, "It's been a busy few months of planning and overseeing several recent Gibraltar events such as military parades, Calentita, Pride and even a short- notice security operation for the visit of the UK Foreign Secretary, with this additional demand significantly impacting our business as usual policing and many of our officers’ primary roles. It was a pleasure to return to London to progress my ongoing operational portfolio in Strategic Command after several online planning meetings. I was able to catch up with colleagues I'd worked with last year and benefit from participating in the successful delivery of a complex operation. 

"Every tier of command (Gold, Silver & Bronze) in areas such as Firearms and Public Order trains to very stringent and common standards. This includes extensive instruction, assessments, shadowing, commanding live operations and maintaining competence, in that order. The bar is deliberately set high, and so it should be. Our community can rest assured that security, public order and public safety at Gibraltar public events remains the RGP's overriding priority, working alongside our partners and organisers to achieve this."