30TH POLICE BRAVERY AWARDS


HEART OF POLICING


AWARD Kent Police


Corinne Porter, Head of Distribution at Police Mutual, Alex Lowe, Senior Director, UK, at Axon Public Safety UK with PC Tom Vinall and Abimbola Johnson, ISOB Chair


PC Tom Vinall


To celebrate 30 years of the Police Bravery Awards, the Police Federation of England and Wales introduced the Heart of Policing Award, sponsored by Police Mutual and Axon, to celebrate an exceptional example of care and empathy. PC Tom Vinall’s high level of empathy,


compassion and clear and calm engagement, ultimately led to saving the life of a vulnerable female, sitting on a ledge in a hazardous derelict building. In May 2024, a member of the public


30 | POLICE | AUGUST| 2024


contacted Kent Police in the early hours of the morning raising concerns for the welfare of a young lone female who they had witnessed walking into a derelict building. PC Tom Vinall was one of the first officers to arrive on scene, with the building being dark with no lighting and hazardous debris such as lumps of concrete all across the area. After a short time, PC Vinall managed


to observe the female sat on a ledge approximately five metres above him, with her legs hanging over the ledge. Initially,


the female was silent and it was clear she had intentions to take her own life from what was being presented to him. PC Vinall immediately began to engage with the female. The tone of his voice was calm, quiet and not panicked which led to the female feeling comfortable to engage with him but remained at risk of harm given her position. He was able to establish with the


female as to how she had made her way to the high ledge and immediately made his way to join her, all the while trying to reassure her and giving her clear


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