Senior Officer Given Queens Medal In Birthday Honours

Chief Superintendent Jane Horwood, West Mercia Police Commander for South Worcestershire and Chair of the force's Women's Network has been named in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

The officer, who has been with the force for more than 30 years, is celebrating after being chosen to receive the Queens Police Medal for her distinguished service.

Chf Supt Horwood said she was very pleased and somewhat surprised to hear that she was to receive the honour.

She explained: "I get enormous pleasure from serving the community and throughout my career I have strived to do the best that I can. West Mercia Police has achieved many successes over the years and I am proud to be part of them. You can do your bit but to be recognised in this way is absolutely fantastic. I cannot believe it!"

Chf Supt Horwood leads a team of more than 600 staff comprising police officers, police staff and special constables. She is responsible for policing services across South Worcestershire, which comprises of the Worcester City, Malvern Hills and Wychavon areas. She is the first woman to hold this particular demanding and high profile role in the history of the force and is currently the most senior female officer in West Mercia Police.

Chief Constable Paul West said: "Jane is a highly experienced and exceptionally talented officer who achieves a perfect balance between authority and approachability, ensuring that she is highly regarded and respected by staff at all levels. Her candid honesty and openness has a visible and positive impact upon more junior colleagues, especially those who may be slightly lacking in self confidence."

"Jane is a hugely popular and inspirational role model and over the years she has given much of herself in order to support and help others to develop. She gives freely of her own time and always portrays a positive approach, no matter how challenging the task in hand. She gains a great deal of satisfaction from seeing those whom she has assisted achieve their personal and professional goals. When she was deservedly awarded the 2008 British Association for Women in Policing Mentor of the Year award she was described by the judges as "...a superb mentor and role model for women."

"This latest accolade is richly deserved recognition of someone who has spent her entire life devoted to public service. I and all of my colleagues in West Mercia Police are absolutely delighted for her."

Chf Supt Horwood is a big sports fan and enjoys cricket, as well as football. She is particularly looking forward to this year's football World Cup in South Africa and the fight for The Ashes later in the year.

At 18 Jane was a fully fledged Woman Police Constable. Jane undertook a variety of roles at a number of ranks, including beat officer - complete with bike - and later a shift sergeant, supervising up to 10 constables, a small number of whom were females, reflecting the comparatively low number in the force in the mid-1980s.

She was a trainer and a detective - specialising for a time in child protection work - before National Criminal Intelligence secondment regionally and in London. Further promotions and specialisms included Chief Inspector with HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Home Office Police Bureaucracy Task Force, followed by a District Commander post.

Chf Supt Horwood said: "You do feel that you are far more visible than a man in the same role. People always have high expectations of me - but then I have high expectations of myself.

"When I was an acting sergeant at 23, many of the officers I managed were not only men but also older and more life and police-experienced. It was daunting at first - but I drew on personal qualities to gain respect."

She added: "Opportunities available now were not there earlier in my career. In 1980 women were not public-order trained. Having said that, during the city riots in 1981 and 1985 - and the 1984 miner's strike - an unprecedented number of women policed West Mercia's streets.

"Women now have exactly the same equipment as men, do the same jobs - and take the same risks. In firearms, weapons are adapted for women, whose hands, generally, are smaller. Similarly, there is no differentiation between male and female officers in dealing with the victims of sexual offences: they both have the same skill levels in a highly sensitive area."

Chf Supt Horwood firmly believes - and exemplifies - that policing offers excellent career openings, a variety of roles and opportunities for promotion. "There is no area that is barred to women - making the police service a very fulfilling prospect," she said.
She will be visiting Buckingham Palace later this year to receive the QPM from royalty.