POLICE in Barnsley honoured the work of its officers and staff at the district’s annual awards ceremony. Here's a list of the winners!
Ten awards were given during the event at Barnsley Town Hall, which was attended by South Yorkshire Police chief constable David Crompton, crime commissioner,Shaun Wright and the Mayor of Barnsley, Cllr Ken Richardson.
Chief superintendent Andy Brooke hosted the awards as well as giving his District Commander’s commendations to other deserving winners.
He said: "As the local police commander, I'm very much aware of the excellent work that takes place by my officers and staff on a day-to-day basis in making Barnsley a safe place.
"Crime is down again this year and this is due to hard work by a lot of people. The awards presented are in recognition of particular commitment in protecting and supporting our communities.
"I'm proud of what my officers do. These are very worthy recipients."
Crime commissioner Shaun Wright said: "I would like to offer my congratulations to all of the award winners.
"I know that every police officer and member of police staff within Barnsley and South Yorkshire work exceptionally hard to ensure that the area is a safer place."
In addition to the main awards, Andy Brooke received an unexpected Outstanding Leadership Award at the end of the ceremony.
Below is a list of the winners:
Crawford Roebuck Trophy for top contributing police officer. Winner: PC Ryan Griffiths
PC Griffiths has shown a relentless commitment to front-line policing, demonstrating a reputation of leading from the front.
While driving home from a shift, he arrested a burglar who was subsequently charged with a string of offences and remanded in custody.
Over the last two years, PC Griffiths has helped to seize drugs to a street value of £1.5million and has been involved in the arrest of 218 prisoners for a wide variety of crimes.
Police Community Support Officer of the Year.
Winner: PCSO Claire Banks, Royston Safer Neighbourhood Team
PCSO Banks has covered the Monk Bretton and Carlton areas for the last eight years.
She is hard working, self-motivated, extremely enthusiastic and highly regarded by the communities she serves.
PCSO Banks took responsibility for two new construction sites in her area, which were suffering anti-social behaviour and theft, and a local operation led to the arrest of a prolific offender who was charged to court.
Safer Neighbourhood Team Officer of the Year.
Winner: PC Jayne Morriss, Dearne Safer Neighbourhood Team
PC Morriss is highly regarded by residents, business owners and partners as someone committed to improving the local community in the Dearne.
In response to complaints of street drinking, she worked extremely hard to obtain a Prohibition of Alcohol order in parts of Goldthorpe and linked with partners to educate young people about the adverse effects of drinking alcohol.
PC Morriss was also successful in obtaining one of the district’s first drugs closure orders after an in‑depth operation.
Don Betton Award for the top probationer constable. Winner: PC Matthew Barnes
PC Barnes has shown outstanding commitment and enthusiasm to learn and develop as a police officer.
He attended a disturbance involving over 50 people where another officer was being attacked and, without hesitation, drew his baton to protect his colleague and made a number of arrests.
In another incident, a group of four people were involved in a violent confrontation and again, without hesitation, PC Barnes intervened and attempted to prevent further injury.
A female officer attending was assaulted. However, he remained calm and restrained her attacker.
Leaders in Action Outstanding Achievement Award. Winner: Police Sergeant Darren Taylor, Anti-Social Behaviour Unit
Sergeant Taylor has given a significant amount of duty and his own time supporting and developing the Special Constabulary in Barnsley.
He instigated the partnership and police Anti-Social Behaviour Unit, which last year achieved a 21 per cent reduction in the issue and so far this year has seen a further seven per cent reduction.
Sergeant Taylor is highly regarded by partners and his work as district lead for mental health-related issues has contributed to effective management of this high demand area for police.
Bravery Award. Winner: PC Chris Foster
PC Foster was on duty alone at 1.33am on January 21, 2013, when police received a report of a man being attacked with a baseball bat.
The weather conditions were extremely hazardous with constant snowfall for about six hours but PC Foster volunteered to attend.
On arrival and without any hesitation, he confronted the attacker and was threatened with a firearm, which, unknown at time, was an imitation shotgun.
PC Foster’s PAVA spray failed to deploy and a violent struggle took place until other officers arrived and the offender was restrained.
PC Foster’s actions led to the offender receiving a three-year prison sentence.
Continuous Improvement Award. Winner: PC Paul Jameson, Hoyland Safer Neighbourhood Team
PC Jameson conducts his duties as a volunteer wildlife crime officer with enthusiasm and commitment, managing incidents from poaching and badger baiting to animal cruelty, on top of an already busy workload.
He was instrumental in setting up the South Yorkshire Police Rural Watch, which is due to be launched in early 2014, and is the only dog legislation officer in the district.
He also instigated a Worship Watch scheme across Barnsley visiting and engaging with places of worship after an increase in metal theft incidents.
Manager of the Year. Winner: Mary Verity, Business Manager
Mary has worked under tremendous pressure to provide an excellent quality of service to both the Rotherham and Barnsley districts.
This has been extremely challenging given the number of force savings requirements.
Mary has developed effective accommodation plans, which address current and future demands, and she has worked with partners to maximise opportunities for co-location.
