Police and staff honoured at Bury Divisional Awards ceremony

Date published: 09 February 2010

The outstanding work and commitment of Bury’s police officers, staff and members of the public was celebrated at a special awards ceremony.

The Mayor of Bury Councillor Sheila Magnall and Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan joined police officers, police staff and their families for the annual Bury Divisional Excellence Awards, which took place at Bury Town Hall on Thursday, 4 February.

The winners were selected by a panel of judges made up of senior police officers and staff, and chaired by Bury’s Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent Jon Rush.

The categories were Police Officer of the Year, PCSO of the Year, Police Staff Member of the Year, Leadership, Student Officer of the Year, Best Quality of Service, Special Constable of the Year and Best Performing Team.

Winner of Police Officer of the Year was PC June Ritchie for the dedication, compassion and skill she demonstrates while carrying out her duty.

In November last year PC Ritchie attended a report of domestic violence, in which the victim had been struck in the face while holding her six-month old child. The victim suffered a fractured cheek and the baby was injured as a result of banging its head on the wall after the blow. PC Ritchie arranged for hospital treatment for the woman and her baby, and arranged for immediate child-care for the woman’s other son, aged five

PC Ritchie accompanied the victim to hospital, not only to look after her, but also to check whether the offender had also gone there. He had, and the PC Ritchie organised his immediate arrest. She kept in close contact with the victim in the days that followed, and arranged for a home-link alarm for her future protection.

Police Community Support Officer Natalie Johnson won PCSO of the Year award for the “enthusiasm, enterprise and dedication” she shows while serving with the Ramsbottom Neighbourhood Policing Team. In particular, PCSO Johnson was praised for designing a special booklet full of safety messages and fun activities to enable children at local primary schools to get to know their neighbourhood officers.

The accolade of Police Staff Member of the Year went to Divisional Financial Investigator Carole Holland who has been instrumental in seizing more than £1 million in cash and assets from criminals through the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) in Bury over the last two years.

The Quality of Service Award, which was sponsored by the Post Office, went to the Bury East Neighbourhood Policing Team in recognition of their work to drive down crime, improve community confidence and build links with local children.

Last year the team secured £1,500 for three Christmas parties at Topping Fold, Chesham and Redvales Children’s Centre. More than 100 local children were invited to the parties and each received a present and the party food was donated by Asda and Tesco stores.

Officers persuaded local DJs to provide the music for each party at no expense, and the officers and staff involved gave up their own time to provide the children with the best possible Christmas.

The division’s success in tackling drugs over the last year was also recognised in the Best Team award. Since January 2009, officers from the division have carried out more than 80 drugs raids and arrested 125 people for offences ranging from personal use to possession with intent to supply heroin and cocaine.

More than £60,000 in cash has been seized from drug-dealers and numerous cannabis farms - with plants with a value of tens of thousands of pounds - have been identified and destroyed. One cannabis farm in Radcliffe, the largest ever found in Bury, was valued at over £750,000.

The ceremony also included the Divisional Commander’s Awards, which are designed to recognise a member of staff or member of the public for exceptional police work or actions requiring outstanding courage and bravery.

Chief Superintendent Jon Rush said: “There is a lot of excellent work being done to tackle crime and disorder across Bury which is evident in the quality of the nominations for this year’s awards.

“The officers and staff that received the awards have done so for their continual efforts and first class service they provide to not only members of the public, but also to their colleagues.

“I was also pleased the work of the neighbourhood policing teams has been recognised as they are all doing sterling work to build relationships with people in Bury whether it be through community events or giving residents a chance to talk about what matters to them at police surgeries.”