Police stars recognised at annual award ceremony

LAST night Cambridgeshire Constabulary held its first annual awards ceremony recognising the outstanding contributions of officers, staff, Specials, volunteers and cadets.

The evening acknowledged those who have truly gone above and beyond their role to help ‘Create a Safer Cambridgeshire’ through a number of award categories.

Held at the Burgess Hall in St Ives, the ceremony – hosted by Rev Richard Coles - included food, drinks, music and presentations of awards by the Chief Constable and the Police and Crime Commissioner along with award sponsors.

Chief Constable Alec Wood said: “I took great pride in personally congratulating the award winners last night.

“The shortlisting process was a difficult job but there were some examples of work that particularly stood out to me and excellently demonstrated our force vision, mission and values.

“So much admirable work goes on each an everyday and although the event by no means demonstrated it all, I hope it showed just a snippet of our many successes.

“Congratulations again to everyone who received an award and thank you for all your hard work and dedication. Your achievements are truly humbling and make a huge difference to our communities.

“I’m also grateful to our sponsors whose generous contributions helped us fund the evening and hold such a special ceremony to recognise all our stars.”

Seven companies and organisations, including close partners of the force, have helped fund the evening through donations.

The sponsors include: website developers Zengenti, sponsors of the Team of the Year award; software developers Black Marble, sponsors of the Commitment to Safeguarding award; the Police Federation, sponsors of the Police Officer of the Year Award; recruitment agency Reed Business Support, sponsors of the Police Staff Employee of the Year award; security technology company eTect, sponsors of the Investigator of the Year Award; education researchers and assessors Cambridge Assessment, sponsors of the Student Officer of the Year Award; financial services and welfare support provider Police Mutual, sponsors of the Commitment to Health and Wellbeing Award.

Waitrose, St Ives, also kindly provided canapés for the event.

Police and Crime Commissioner Jason Ablewhite added: “I would like to extend my congratulations to everyone who received an award last night. It was an honour to present some of the awards and I felt immensely proud hearing all the incredible pieces of work which undoubtedly deserved to be recognised.”

Attendees heard stories of exceptional performance, professionalism and commitment and rewarded those who have consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty to help protect the people of Cambridgeshire.

The award categories are listed below alongside the winners. Please note that not all winners wished to receive media coverage.

·        Grand Prix Award – Chief Constable’s employee of the year AND

·        Commitment to Outstanding Leadership Award

o   Inspector Terri Griffin

Terri’s leadership has enabled the force to better understand and respond to its significant mental health demands, raising her own game, her knowledge, researching what works to lead her team, the organisation and partners.

·        Zengenti Team of the Year Award

o   Forensic Collision Investigations Unit

The FCIU Northern Team works with the utmost professionalism in very difficult circumstances, achieving excellent results and ensuring the service to members of the public who have lost loved ones is paramount.

·        Black Marble Commitment to Safeguarding Award

o   Detective Constable Jacqueline Bremner

Jacqueline has dedicated most of her career to working within child protection and public protection and has displayed excellent working practices, knowledge, motivation and commitment to the continued safeguarding of children and the community.

·        Police Federation Police Officer of the Year Award

o   Sergeant Becky Jones

Becky has outstanding work ethic and shows true dedication to not only the force, but her staff and the people she serves.

·        Reed Business Support Police Staff Employee of the Year Award

o   Jo Lynch

Jo has helped maintain core business functions and invested time and effort in developing her colleagues, often working single-handedly ‘behind the scenes’ during a difficult period for her department.

·        eTect Investigator of the Year Award

o   Detective Constable Emily Clarke

Emily is a tenacious detective who has taken a multi-agency approach to investigate and secure convictions against some of the most dangerous criminals in the justice system.

·        Special Officer of the Year Award

o   Special Sergeant Antony Bolton

Tony is dedicated to serving the people of Cambridgeshire through his work with the Rural Crime Action Team. His knowledge of law and procedure, particularly around rural matters is excellent.

·        Police Community Support Officer of the Year Award

o   PCSO Aggie Fisher

Aggie has provided exceptional support to the Polish and Eastern European communities of Huntingdonshire, providing a vital link and creating trust between the police and our communities.

·        Cadet of the Year Award

o   Emma Landratova

Emma is an enthusiastic and motivated member of her cadet unit who loves to make a difference in her community.

·        Volunteer of the Year Award

o   David McCreath

David’s motivation and dedication are unwavering. He has built fantastic relationships with partner agencies and brought other really hard working volunteers into his team.

·        Cambridge Assessment Student Officer of the Year Award

o   PC Steve Girdlestone

Quiet confidence, humility, will to succeed, tenacity and enthusiasm are all traits Steve brings to work which rub off on those around him. Despite his length of service he is able to learn quickly and take the lead on jobs.

·        Police Mutual Commitment to Wellbeing Award

o   T/Detective Inspector Mark Butler

Mark has enabled the recruitment of Blue Light Champions in every department across the force, as well as facilitating the opening of dialogue around mental health.

·        Unsung Hero Award

o   Sara White

Sara has tackled organisational challenges with amazing efficiency, skill and dedication. She consistently goes above and beyond her pay scale, organising and managing her team to ensure they provide the best service