Community policing awards honour outstanding officers and staff
18 May 2009
The Police Service of Northern Ireland today, Monday 18 May, announced the winners of the annual Policing with the Community Awards.
This showcase event, developed by the Police Service in partnership with the Northern Ireland Policing Board, is in its sixth year and is designed to recognise and honour the commitment of officers and police staff.
The winners in the nine categories announced at a gala awards ceremony in the Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle are:
- Probationer of the Year – Constable Graham McMinn, C District, Newtownards Area
- Police Officer Part Time of the Year – Constable Darren Pollock, H District, Coleraine Area
- Neighbourhood Policing Team of the Year – E District, Portadown Neighbourhood Team
- Diversity in Action Award – North Belfast Area, A District Community Safety Team
- Partnership of the Year Award – E District, Annalong Network for their local initiative to reduce anti social behaviour
- Staff Member of the Year – Raymond Boyle, A District West Belfast Area
- Police Officer of the Year – Sergeant Russell Vogan, E District, Armagh Area
- Police Staff Lifetime Achievement – Susan Surgeoner, A District, North Belfast Area
- Police Lifetime Achievement – PJ Whyte, Crime Prevention Officer, D District, Antrim Area
The initiative aims to publicly recognise and reward outstanding problem-solving policing in partnership with local communities and also to celebrate the important contribution of police staff towards making Northern Ireland a safer place for everyone.
District Commanders, along with District Policing Partnerships, made the nominations this year and local communities were also able to recommend community officers and Neighbourhood Policing Teams who contributed significantly in their local areas.
Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland said: “My congratulations go to all the nominees and winners in each of the categories. Engaging with local communities is key to making Northern Ireland a safer place for everyone. Policing is about identifying local problems and working in partnership with local community groups and representatives to deliver proactive solutions.
“This is the sixth year for the Awards. They have become a regular date in the policing calendar. They have been a major success and allow us to showcase the dedication and professionalism of the Police Service to the broader community while also allowing officers and staff to celebrate the achievements of their colleagues.
“Today’s event recognises the commitment of our people, both police officers and police staff, to serving and going the extra mile for the community. We value the people who work in the Police Service and these awards are an excellent way of rewarding consistently innovative and high standards of work in our local communities. Our business community partners are also very important to us and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their continued support of the Awards.”
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, Professor Sir Desmond Rea said: “Every day, across all our communities, police officers and staff continue to engage with and work with local people to deliver a Police Service which benefits our entire society. This kind of policing can only be achieved when the police and the community work in partnership and the Policing with the Community Awards is a vital way to recognise this kind of work.
“As usual, there were some very strong candidates who were shortlisted and those who have been honoured have the right to be extremely proud of what they are achieving in their daily work.”
