Community Policing Awards 2022 Winners

Thames Valley Police is proud to announce the winners of the Community Policing Awards 2022.

Community Officer 2022: Sergeant Dan Ryder

Dan joined Thames Valley Police in 2004 and is based at Taplow station.

Dan has been in the Neighbourhood Sergeant role since September 2020 and there has been a noticeable change in the community with a reduction in anti-social behaviour and drug use. He assists neighbourhood operations and has shown that his inquisitiveness is spot on with a number of stops that have led to huge quantities of drugs being recovered.

A nominator said, “The village feels like a much safer place with him being here.”

Berkshire PCSO 2022: PCSO Sue Gillespie

Sue joined Thames Valley Police in 2004 and is currently based at Newbury station.

Sue has been integral in assisting many vulnerable people in the community and has been working alongside charities such as Eight Bells. She provides their members with compassion, patience and an experienced listening ear.

A nominator said, “Sue is a one off, she has always been very professional but also very caring of others in Newbury. She is never without a smile ad has always been very helpful.”

Buckinghamshire PCSO 2022: PCSO Olivia Richardson

Olivia joined Thames Valley Police in 2019 and is currently based at Wycombe station.

She works closely with partner agencies to help vulnerable individuals who are going through a tough period in their life and never forgets a welfare check to ensure that the most vulnerable within the community are cared for. As a result of this work and Olivia’s determined mind-set, she assisted a young man suffering with mental health issues and ensured he was placed into suitable accommodation.

A nominator described Olivia as “an extremely caring and hardworking PCSO who excels in every area of her work.”

Oxfordshire PCSO 2022: PCSO Thomas Bailey

Thomas joined Thames Valley Police in 2007 where he joined the Banbury Neighbourhood team and in 2013 transferred to Bicester rural neighbourhood team where he remains to this day.

Tom works closely with the farmers and local community to ensure he is aware of their needs and their concerns and regularly makes contact with them.

A nominator said “Tom is a very supportive colleague and will always help out others within his team, nothing is ever too much trouble for him. He gives everyone a real lift in the team.”

Volunteer 2022: Andy Blackwood

Andy joined Thames Valley Police as a volunteer chaplain and always puts the needs of others above his own. He regularly attends scene watches to take refreshments and during cold weather he provides blankets to ensure officers aren’t cold.

A nominator said “He is a wonderful asset to us all and we would be lost without him.”

Community Volunteer 2022: Shin Dhother

Shin volunteers for the charity, Slough Outreach, a project which launched in 2017 to provide compassion, hot food and warm clothes to vulnerable and homeless communities within Slough.

His nominators described him as an “amazing individual” and a “god of slough”.

Cadet 2022: Scarlett Salter

Scarlett joined Thames Valley Police in 2019 and is part of the cadet unit in Windsor. She has demonstrated her strong leadership skills and provided support to some of the new cadets and those have additional needs.

A nominator said, “Scarlett represents everything our cadet group is about and we are proud to have her.”

Problem Solving Award 2022: PCSO Lee Abrahams and PCSO Rachel Matthews

Lee and Rachel are both based in the Aylesbury Vale local police area and over the last year they have gone above and beyond the role of a PCSO.

Following the tragic murder of Amir Shafique in October 2020, Rachel and Lee provided reassurance patrols, attended events and took it upon themselves to look into getting a knife bin. They identified and secured funding and set about advertising the bin and acquiring funds from partner agencies to assist in the promotion of this. Working alongside the charity ‘In this together’ they have ensured that over 100 knives have been removed off the street.

A nominator said, “They protect their community to the best of their ability and consistently rise to any challenge given to them.”

Lifetime Achievement 2022: Mark Weston

Mark joined Thames Valley Police in 1976 as a police officer, becoming a Detective Inspector who had a critical role in implementing the National Intelligence Model across the force, before retiring and then returning to the force as a member of staff. Mark currently works in the Professional Standards Department as one of the department’s senior managers.

A nominator described Mark as “a stalwart of the department” who never seeks credit or recognition, yet provides the very highest quality of service day in day out.