Bobby Singleton has been appointed as PSNI Deputy Chief Constable by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
The PSNI moved to fill the post after Mark Hamilton confirmed in September that he intended to retire.
Welcoming the Mr Singleton’s appointment, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said: “I very much want to congratulate Bobby on his appointment as the next Deputy Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
“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 Singleton had applied for the role of Chief Constable after Simon Byrne quit last year, but lost out to Jon Boutcher.
He has been with the PSNI for over two decades, having first joined the PSNI as one of the first student officers in November 2001.
He first came to public attention in 2016 when the PSNI posted a photograph of him to Facebook, accompanied by a caption detailing safety advice for the upcoming Tennant’s Vital music festival.
The police officer caught the eye of social media users who took to the comments section to praise him for his looks.
After the 2016 Facebook post, former Detective Superintendent Singleton, who officially became Assistant Chief Constable two years ago after serving in the role on a temporary basis, laughed off his newfound hunk status.
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“Just another day at the office lol,” he had tweeted, adding that his fellow officers were “ensuring I’m kept well grounded”.
Between 2014 and 2016 as a superintendent he was responsible for leading community policing services for Belfast.
He was also a firearms and public order commander, leading complex and challenging multi-agency operations.
From April 2016 to May 2019, then a Detective Superintendent, he was the PSNI’s lead for drugs, organised crime and the Paramilitary Crime Task Force.
After being promoted to Detective Chief Superintendent, he was appointed 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, and now Assistant Chief Constable, he was temporarily appointed 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 Hamilton, who had been second in command since 2020, had been absent from work since a medical procedure a year ago.
Chris Todd had been appointed as temporary deputy in October last year.
The post has a salary of around £195,000-£200,000, according to the latest PSNI accounts.
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 Temporary 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.”