Press Release
23 Novmeber 2007
WINNERS OF JANE'S POLICE REVIEW GALA AWARDS ANNOUNCED
London, 23 November 2007 – The winners of the prestigious Jane’s Police Review Gala Awards were announced in a glittering ceremony in London last night. The centre of attention was a police officer from West Yorkshire, who won the Community Police Officer of the Year Award for his work at the forefront of easing Asian community relations in the aftermath of the London suicide bombings on 7 July 2005.
PC Mohammed Aziz patrols the Dewsbury area, which became infamous as the home of Mohammed Siddique Khan, the ringleader of the London bombers. Following the bombings, Dewsbury found itself in the eye of a storm as the media from across the world converged. There were raids and arrests. Community cohesion was stretched to breaking point.
Himself a Muslim, and with a distinguished ex-serviceman record, PC Aziz was the ideal person to communicate with both sides when there were subsequent Terrorism Act 2000 arrests in the area.
“When the raids took place there was a lot of worry and panic in the neighbourhood,” says
PC Aziz. “I had to persuade people that they were not being targeted or picked on, that the raids were happening for a reason. Being a Muslim I’m part of the shared culture. People feel they can trust me and speak to me.”
The annual Jane's Police Review Gala Awards highlight the work of bobbies on the beat who are not attached to high-profile units or squads and who rarely make the headlines. Nominees for the five award categories are judged by a high-profile panel which looks for examples of excellent practice that has made a real difference to the lives of the communities these officers serve.
The winners in the other awards categories were:
- PC Kelly Chidgey, of Hampshire Constabulary, who won the Student Police Officer of the Year Award.
- Karen Ballard, of West Midlands Police, won the Community Support Officer of the Year Award for her constant enthusiasm and dedication, going the extra mile to improve the quality of life for local residents. (This award category was newly introduced this year to recognise personal skills in adding value to communities, local initiatives introduced and any demonstration of excellent working relationships with communities.)
- Det Sgt Graham Sanders, of West Midlands Police, won the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Year for his achievement throughout his 35 years’ police service.
- West Midlands Police’s Diversity and Community Cohesion Unit, based in Birmingham, won the Diversity in Action Award for its tireless engagement with black and ethnic minority populations.
The event took place at The Brewery, in the City of London, and was attended by the most senior and influential figures in policing and government. This year there were 159 nominees who had been put forward by police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Chris Herbert, editor of Jane’s Police Review and a member of the judging panel, said: “there was an exceptionally high standard of entries this year and the judges had an extremely tough job selecting the winners from each of these categories.”
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Editor’s Notes
For more information, or for photographs of the winners or nominees, please contact Andrea Krug, Public Relations Manager, on 0208 700 3703 or email andrea.krug@janes.com. For more details on the Jane’s Police Review Gala Awards and all the winners and nominees, visit http://www.janes.com/events/awards/policereview.
Other winners
- Community Police Officer of the Year Award
Second place: PC David Johnson of Lancashire Police
Third place: PC Brian Simpson of Northumbria Police
Highly commended: PC Lorraine Murphy of Cumbria Police and PC Simon Kirkham of South Yorkshire Police
- Student Police Officer of the Year Award
Second place: PC Henry Henderson of Leicestershire Police
Third place: PC Russell Hughes of South Yorkshire Police
Highly commended: PC Christopher Buckland of Derbyshire Police
- Diversity in Action Award of the Year
Second place: Dorset Police’s Divisional Diversity Forum and the Development of Police Link Officers for the Deaf
Third place: South Wales Police’s Forced Marriage/Honour Based Violence Awareness and Victim Protection Programme.
- Community Support Officer of the Year
Second place: PCSO Andre De Jongh of Suffolk Police
Third place: PCSO Deborah Charman of Avon and Somerset Police
Highly commended: PCSO Robert Johnson of Merseyside Police and PCSO Nicola Burton of Staffordshire Police.
- Lifetime Achievement Award of the Year
Second place: PC Robert Greenacre of Metropolitan Police
Third place: PC Jan McKay of the Police Service of Northern Ireland
About the Jane’s Police Review Gala Awards
The annual Jane's Police Review Gala Awards have established themselves as the most prestigious event for recognising and rewarding excellence in community policing in the United Kingdom.
Brought to you by Jane's Police Review magazine, the UK’s biggest selling policing magazine, they provide an opportunity for all police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to recognise outstanding achievements of community police officers across the full spectrum of their police career - from student to the year of retirement.
Now in its sixteenth year, the awards highlight the work of bobbies on the beat who are not attached to high-profile units or squads and who rarely make the headlines… yet who deserve to. Nominees for these five categories are put forward by constabularies across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Judging Panels
The judging panel for this year's awards (with the exception of the Diversity in Action Award) consisted of:
- Sir Ronnie Flanagan, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary;
- Jan Berry, Chairman, Police Federation of England and Wales;
- Ken Jones, President, ACPO;
- Ian Johnston, President, The Superintendents' Association of England and Wales;
- Peter Neyroud, Chief Executive, the National Policing Improvement Agency
- Chris Herbert, Editor, Jane's Police Review.
The judging panel for the Diversity in Action Award consists of:
- Everett Henry, HM Inspector of Constabulary (Race and Diversity) HM Inspectorate of Constabulary;
- Peter Fahy, ACPO Diversity Lead, Chief Constable, Cheshire Constabulary;
- Suzette Davenport, British Association for Women in Policing;
- Mike Rowe, Superintendents’ Association.
The Awards Categories
- Community Support Officer of the Year Award (NEW for 2007)- Judges considered criteria including personal skills in adding value to their communities, local initiatives introduced and any demonstration of excellent working relationships with their communities. The winner receives a £1,000 bursary.
- Student Police Officer of the Year Award- Judges considered criteria including the ability to solve problems, promise in practical policing skills and excellent interaction with the public. The winner receives a £1,000 bursary.
- Community Police Officer of the Year Award- This award highlights the work of bobbies on the beat, including local initiatives to combat crime and officers' relationships with their communities. The award winner receives a £3,000 travel bursary to study community policing in another country.
- Diversity in Action Award- Judges considered criteria including evidence of outstanding achievement or proven innovative practice, evidence from the community of the success of schemes and evidence that special effort has been made to reach out to a particular group. The winner receives a £5,000 bursary.
- Lifetime Achievement in Policing Award - Forces nominated officers who, throughout their career, have made noteworthy contributions to their respective forces, communities and the service. From policing anti-social behaviour to tackling the most serious crimes, nominees have had long and distinguished careers in the service and are role models for the numerous new recruits who join the service. The winner receives a £500 voucher.
Sponsors
The award sponsors for 2007 are:
- Community Support Officer of the Year Award sponsored by ACPO Neighbourhood Policing Programme
- Community Police Officer of the Year Award sponsored by Police Mutual
- Student Police Officer of the Year Award sponsored by the John Grieve Centre
- Diversity in Action Award is sponsored by the Police Superintendents Association of England and Wales.
- Lifetime Achievement in Policing Award - sponsored by the Police Associates Register
About Jane’s Police Review
Jane’s Police Review combines the best independent coverage of national and local issues with expert comment, analysis and interviews. Regular features include exclusive national and local police news, independent comment, regular updates on new legislation, review of case law, study-guides for promotion examinations, themed issues such as focusing on diversity or pre-retirement, and a careers section with the latest vacancies.
About Jane’s Information Group
Jane’s, an IHS company (NYSE: IHS), is the leading open source information provider and conference organiser on defence, international risk and national security to governments, militaries, industries and academia around the globe. Jane’s is headquartered in London and also has offices in Alexandria, Virginia; Singapore; Tokyo; Dubai; and Sydney, Australia. For more information, please visit our award-winning website, www.janes.com.
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