Call to honour exceptional police work (From Witney Gazette)

Call to honour exceptional police work

PEOPLE are being asked to nominate exceptional Thames Valley Police officers and staff for the Community Policing Awards.

The Community Policing Awards are an annual competition run to recognise staff who have excelled in their neighbourhoods as a community police officer, police community support officer, special constable, volunteer or as a student officer.

It provides an opportunity for residents, community organisations and businesses to nominate a member of Thames Valley Police staff who they think deserves recognition for their outstanding work in the community.

The competition is sponsored by West Oxfordshire Motor Auctions and Ian and Caroline Laing and is now in its sixth year. The aim is to highlight the important role of community policing.

Nominees will be judged on the relationships they have built with local communities and the initiatives they have introduced to reduce crime and disorder. The more nominations candidates receive, the more likely they are to be short-listed.

Last year 135 people were nominated within the four-week campaign. The nominations that were sent in by members of the public were full of examples of excellent work carried out by Thames Valley Police staff. This year, the force is hoping to increase the number of nominations received. The deadline for entries is April 17.

There will be five winners - one for each category -including community officer of the year; police community support officer of the year; special constable of the year, volunteer of the year and student officer of the year.

The winner of the community officer category will be put forward for a national community officer of the year competition run by Jane's Police Review magazine. The winner of this national award receives a £3,000 bursary to travel to another country and find out about different methods of community policing. The student officer of the year will also be entered into the national Police Review competition. Last year's Thames Valley Police student officer of the year, PC Nick Busby from Amersham, went on to secure third place in the national competition. It was the second time in a row that a Thames Valley Police student officer had won third place. The Special Constable of the Year will be put forward for the nationally awarded Ferrer's Trophy.

Assistant Chief Constable Nick Gargan, said: "This is an opportunity for residents to help us to recognise members of staff who have really made a difference in their communities."

Nomination forms are available from local police stations and main libraries, and forms have also been sent to parish councils. Alternatively, nominees can download a form or a poster advertising the competition from the website www.thamesvalley.police.uk