Police chief officially appointed in Victoria after ‘challenging circumstances’

Victoria officially has a new police chief, nearly 18 months after its former leader stepped aside amid a misconduct investigation involving inappropriate Twitter messages.

The police board says Del Manak has been permanently appointed chief constable of the Victoria Police Department.

Manak has been acting as head of the force since December 2015, when former chief Frank Elsner stepped aside while investigations were conducted into allegations that he’d sent Twitter messages to the wife of one of his officers.

Elsner was suspended last April and officially quit last month.

Mayor Lisa Helps says Manak has demonstrated “unwavering leadership” and created a strong community presence for the department despite working under “challenging circumstances.”

Manak says in a statement that he plans to build on the force’s reputation by engaging and collaborating with the community.