Officer recognised for academic effort and achievement

PC Claire Muir, who works as a response officer in High Peak, has received the Pippa Wilkinson Award for Apprentice Effort and Achievement from the University of Derby.

She was presented with the award last month by Pippa's mum Elaine. Pippa worked on the Apprenticeship Team at Derby University, and sadly died at a young age. The award honours Pippa's legacy of hard work, commitment, and enthusiasm.

Claire has been working towards a degree apprenticeship, which she started in 2021 under the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) scheme. Claire completed the course, achieving high marks, including first class honours on her dissertation.

Claire was delighted to receive the Apprenticeship Award in recognition of her hard work. During her studies, she discovered a passion for research, especially relating to her own circumstances of living and policing a large rural area, which inspired her dissertation choice.

"I'm a country girl at heart, born and bred, and rural communities are my passion," she said. "If I hear anything over the radio with a countryside connection, my ears prick up."

As part of her course, she worked on attachment to the force's Rural Crime Team. Her dissertation addressed all aspects of rural crime, including plant theft, wildlife crime and heritage crime. Realising she could make a real, evidence-based difference to the community in which she lived and worked, Claire reached out to the lecturing team and worked closely with them to engage in the academic process, producing some valuable work.

She wanted to find a way to help officers who didn't have a farming background to understand the devastating impact crime can have on rural communities and livelihoods.

"The costs associated with the theft of machinery alone are significant," she said, "and many crimes go unreported as farmers think it is a waste of time. I want to change that mindset, improve public confidence, and give officers access to the knowledge to police rural Derbyshire effectively."

"It sounds simple, but if officers build up that local information, such as which landowners or farmers you need to contact about stock in a particular field or know how to trace a sheep from its ear tag, they can make investigative connections that can get things resolved quickly."

Claire also talked about the benefits of officers spending time at markets and livestock sales, chatting to people and being available to listen to any concerns.

She acknowledges that the apprenticeship wasn't all plain sailing, as she worked to demonstrate operational competence as a police officer alongside undertaking academic work to the full creditable value of an undergraduate degree.

"I did have times throughout the three years where I questioned the workload," Claire admits. "I was a full-time police officer doing the Uni work on top, trying to fit it all in on my rest days. I found myself nodding off when I tried to study at home, so I made myself travel up to Buxton to sit in the library. I pushed myself, juggled, and had to plan what I was doing - even just to find half an hour here and there to make sure I got things done."

It's the inaugural year for the Pippa Wilkinson Award, which celebrates the efforts and achievements of an apprentice, chosen from across all the apprenticeship programmes offered by the University, who has demonstrated exceptional dedication and made significant contributions to their workplace.

In Claire's case, it has been awarded in light of her significant drive and determination across the duration of the PCDA programme, coupled with how her university work linked into her operational work and vice-versa, to make the rural areas of Derbyshire a safer place.