Local heroes honoured at police awards

Inspirational police officers and staff from across South Yorkshire are to be recognised at South Yorkshire Police's Leaders in Action Awards Ceremony held at City Hall, Sheffield on Friday 7 May 2010.

BBC Look North presenters, and hosts for the evening, Harry Gration and Christa Ackroyd will be on hand to recognise South Yorkshire Police's finest officers and staff for some heroic, committed and skilful examples of policing. Awards will be presented in 14 different categories from Student Officer of the Year to Lifetime Achievement in Policing.

Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes said: "The winners and all the nominees have demonstrated the quality of our people, which has led to our being recognised as one of the most improved forces in the UK. Through everyone's efforts public confidence in South Yorkshire Police is continuously rising.

"We're working hard to deliver on the priorities the public set us. These colleagues are leading the way."

Amongst the winners, and detailed below, are:

PC Peter Booth (Sheffield) - Brian Moseley Award

Special Constable Andrew Bentley (Sheffield) - Special Constable of the Year

Sergeant Richard Sainsbury (Barnsley) - Lifetime Achievement in Policing

PCSO Alex Kirk (Doncaster) - PCSO of the Year

PC Neil Palmer & PC Jason Harrison (Rotherham) - Royal Humane Society Award

PC Peter Booth (Sheffield) - Brian Moseley Award

For the last 18 years, PC Peter Booth has been the community constable at Chapeltown. In spring next year, Peter completes 30 years with the Force and this award recognises his distinguished service.

PC Peter Booth is something of a 'community treasure' in Chapeltown. His prodigious local knowledge of both the area and the overwhelming number of local people who know him well, combined with his commitment and his likeable character has made a positive contribution to the fabric of the community that can be seen in the relatively low crime rates and general tone of the area.

He is sought out as a valuable point of contact by fellow officers from across the Force who have enquiries in the area, having assisted in high risk missing persons and investigations into serious offences recently. He is also able to routinely identify the 'ne'er-do-wells' caught on CCTV.

PC Booth is so well loved amongst his community that six years ago the people of Chapeltown actually petitioned to keep him when they thought he was going to be moved to a different safer neighbourhood team.

Recently, rumours circulated of PC Booth's death. Fortunately these were "greatly exaggerated" but had spread so thick and fast throughout the community that the story became a headline in the local press. The rumours though were quickly quashed, and we can again confirm that even after 30 years, PC Booth still retains his conventional policing role, dealing with incidents, working in schools and at football matches and patrolling his beat every Friday evening in the centre of Chapeltown.

Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes said: "Your work has been outstanding and epitomises everything that I want from people in South Yorkshire Police, in terms of really focusing on the community and perhaps more importantly, it's what the public want as well."

Special Constable Andrew Bentley (Sheffield) - Special Constable of the Year

The role of the Special Constabulary in policing is one that is often underestimated, yet in 2009 South Yorkshire's Special Constables contributed over 70,000 hours to policing in the county, that's the equivalent of around 30 hours per officer per month and a total of £1.7 million pounds worth of regular officers' wages.

These unsung heroes have all the powers and responsibility of regular officers, they volunteer their own time and energy to people they do not know and for no financial reward. Often on top of full-time work commitments and family life.

Special Constables attend the same incidents and get involved in the same operations as their regular colleagues every week of the year.

Forty-three-year-old Special Constable Andrew Bentley, a Special for the last six years, is this year's Special Constable of the Year due to his ability to deal with incidents that would have severely challenged an experienced full time colleague.

Andrew was nominated by Sergeant Tim Cross at Meersbrook Police Station, who said: "On a number of occasions I have known Andrew work all night dealing with a prisoner he has arrested. And I don't mean just assisting a 'regular' colleague, I mean actually dealing with the case and preparing all the paperwork.

"It is a pleasure to have Andrew working with us. He is one of the hardest working people I have ever met, both within and outside the police service. He is unfailingly polite and always enthusiastic."

Andrew acts as a tutor and mentor for other Special Constables and takes pride in his role as a Special. Some of his responsibilities include representing the police at the Eccleshall Forum; providing the police presence at the 'Teenage Kicks' youth event, popular with around 200 regular attendees; running recruiting events at local community centres; and promoting the roll out of the SmartWater security system.

Andrew's work has afforded him praise not only from his 'regular police' colleagues but also directly from members of the community.

In addition to all of this, Andrew regularly comes in to work at very short notice to help out with particular events or incidents. He also patrols regularly with officers from the 'duty groups' at Woodseats Police Station.

Andrew's enthusiasm and dedication to the role is far greater than what would normally be expected from a full-time paid officer and it is for this reason that he is afforded the Special Constable of the Year Award.

Sergeant Richard Sainsbury (Barnsley) - Lifetime Achievement in Policing

Richard started at SYP in September 1988, having previously served in the Military, and was promoted to sergeant in December 1993. Other than a 12 month period as a trainee detective at the start of his career, Sergeant Sainsbury has been dedicated to the front line during his 22 years with South Yorkshire Police.

Sgt Sainsbury's enthusiasm is infectious on those around him and he has developed and trained a significant number of officers, especially in relation to drug-related crimes.

It is in this particular area that Sergeant Sainsbury excels, having been the driving force in Barnsley for a number of years. As well as his work training others, Richard has worked closely with the drugs courts in Barnsley and is highly regarded by the local judiciary.

Sergeant Sainsbury is also an active member of the National Police Anti-Bureaucracy Task Group.

Outside the policing arena, Sergeant Sainsbury spends a considerable amount of time raising funds for local charities, including Bluebell Wood. He has completed cycle sponsorships from Lands End to John O'Groats, the three capitals (London, Edinburgh and Cardiff) and is presently working on a challenge to complete the West Highland Way, which equates to 100 miles in 5 days, to raise funds for Help the Heroes.

PCSO Alex Kirk (Doncaster) - PCSO of the Year

In her three years with the Doncaster Town Centre Safer Neighbourhood Team, PCSO Alex Kirk has forged strong relationships with both adults and children in the community. Her dedication and commitment to the local community has earned Alex the PCSO of the Year Award.

In recent months she devised the Junior Warden Scheme. The scheme is run in partnership with the local council and motivates children to become involved in work that improves the quality of the community.

Alex has worked with the Netherhall Area Community Interest Company (CIC) on various projects aimed at additional improvement measures within that community, with the aim of reducing such issues as antisocial behaviour. Projects have included the Pocket Park playground for young children.

Alex co-ordinated the Shop Watch Scheme within Doncaster town centre, designed to assist local shopkeepers and business proprietors with tackling crime, and took the lead in organising the town centre Crime Reduction Bus, promoting 'jingle bells' and 'spikeys' during the 2009 festive period as well as other crime prevention advice. Alex also organised training for staff both prior to and during the operation of the Crime Reduction Bus.

Alex has also taken the initiative to plan and co-ordinate a variety of diversionary activities at peak antisocial behaviour times (e.g. early November) to engage young people in something more constructive, providing variety to meet the needs of the diverse community and differences in age groups.

Alex's contribution to the success of the Safer Neighbourhood Team has been over and above of what would be expected of any member of the team, making her the deserving winner of the PCSO of the Year Award.

PC Neil Palmer & PC Jason Harrison (Rotherham) - Royal Humane Society Award

For over 200 years the Royal Humane Society has been honouring the endeavours of individuals responsible for saving the lives of their fellow human beings.

The awards are made to those who, at personal risk, save or endeavour to save life by rescue from a wide range of accidents and dangers.

This year's award was presented to PC Neil Palmer and PC Jason Harrison who together made a daring rescue to save the life of a 48-year-old man who had fallen into a frozen canal.

The two officers made their way to the scene after the call came in to police from a member of the public. They had to run the last 600m on foot, as there was no vehicular access to the site.

The man had been in the water for several hours and was unable to move due to the extremely cold temperature of the water. He was stranded approximately 2m below the level of the towpath, in 1.5m of water. The officers immediately took a foothold on a small girder protruding from the canal wall, enabling them to reach down to the man and pull him to safety, then carried him the 600m back up the path to the waiting ambulance.

Both PC Neil Palmer and PC Jason Harrison had placed themselves in serious danger of falling into the canal themselves in order to save this man's life, and are for this are presented with a Royal Humane Society Award.