Policing heroes from across Avon and Somerset, including police officers, members of staff, specials, volunteers and teams, will be recognised at an award ceremony next month, as this year’s Be Proud Awards finalists have been chosen.
A final judging panel made up of Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Sue Mountstevens, Chief Constable Andy Marsh and award sponsor, BT’s Jason Barretto, had the difficult decision of selecting this year’s finalists from the shortlisted nominations.
After being inundated with nominations across the eight categories, this year’s men and women have been selected and invited to a ceremony at Cadbury House in Congresbury on May 17, where the overall force winner for each category will be announced.
PCC Sue Mountstevens: “A highlight of my role as your PCC is to hear from our local residents, about officers, staff and volunteers who are ‘working tirelessly to improve the quality of life for all of the community, reducing crime and increasing public safety’.
“Comments like ‘no thanks will ever be enough but this will go a small way to show the gratitude I have for this individual’ not only mean a lot to me, but I know it also means a great deal to the Constabulary.
“I want to congratulate everyone who was nominated, all those who were shortlisted and all the finalists. I look forward to celebrating your achievements at the awards ceremony and seeing the reactions of our overall force winners on the night.”
Chief Constable Andy Marsh said: “I am incredibly proud of all those who make up our policing service, so to know our local communities feel the same and have taken the time to publicly highlight the exemplary efforts of our workforce, is really valued.
“We should never underestimate the power of a ‘thank you’ and the fact we received as many nominations as we did is testament to the hard work shown by all neighbourhood, investigations and response teams, members of staff, specials and volunteers.
“Through your nominations you have given someone the chance to celebrate their success, by letting them know that you recognise what they have done.”
Our finalists are…
For Neighbourhood Officer of the Year, finalists include PCSO Jacqueline Harper and PC Ross Calderwood. For Response Officer of the Year, finalists include PC Joe Iles, PC Jody Gribble and PC Jonathan Hall.
Three finalists have been selected for Investigator of the Year. For Police Staff Member of the Year, finalists include the Incident Assessment Unit’s Emma Weaving, Custody Drug Test Administrator Susan Meakin and Criminal Justice Case Manager Helen Cuthbert.
For Police Support Volunteer of the Year, finalists include Volunteer Coordinator Jennifer Hill, the volunteer puppy walkers and Neighbourhood Watch Association Chair Nick Gough. For Special Constable of the year, finalists include Jordan Howe, Anthony Millington and Antony Harris.
For the Specialist Operations Award, finalists include Operation Blueline – the Bristol team behind Drugsland, Operation Topaz – the Constabulary team working to tackle child sexual exploitation and Operational Support Officers, PC Andrew May and PC Tracy Ward.
For Policing Team of the Year, finalists include the Bristol South Early Intervention Team, the Constabulary’s Operational Planning Team and the Bridgwater Neighbourhood Policing Team.
The Be Proud Awards are only possible thanks to the support of our proud partners including BT, the Western Daily Press, AN: Event Services, SEA, the Medlock Charitable Trust and Double Tree Hilton Cadbury Hotel.
For more information about the Be Proud Awards visit www.beproudawards.com.