EVENTS
response officers with prizes donated by local businesses, and senior leaders going on patrol with response officers. I was particularly pleased to learn the Oscar Kilo health check proved that my cholesterol levels were lower than that of my staff officer, Sergeant Alex Johnson; sadly for me, I came a resounding second place on the weight check!
THE PRESENTATIONS I was very impressed with the presentations organised by the College of Policing; on the benefits of double crewing, feeding your body clock for shift workers and an update on the Manchester Arena Inquiry portfolio. All were well received, very relevant and earned the highest ever number of registrations for the Response Policing Week of Action. All the presentations have been uploaded to the “Response Policing” group on Knowledge Hub and can be used as CPDs throughout the year. Our Knowledge Hub subscription to the “Response Policing” group is now seven times higher than it was prior to the Week of Action. These results have encouraged us to commit to planned quarterly blogs for the Knowledge Hub and thus provide a national focal point for discussions on response policing. Mid-way through the Week of Action we held another #WeCops Twitter event building on the success of last year’s event. This was an excellent opportunity to get the opinions of colleagues working in response policing. In order to stimulate some early discussion, we released a ‘you said, we did’ report to demonstrate the progress made over the last year. There were some interesting discussions regarding wellbeing and staff welfare, with specific reference to crewing policies, demand management, resourcing crime allocation policies and support from leaders. All of these issues, along with other main themes from the evening will be covered in both #WeCops and the first quarterly Knowledge Hub blogs. I was very pleasantly surprised by the number of colleagues who joined us and contributed to the event. In terms of the top Twitter trends for the UK, we were trending at sixth in the country. It is with a deep sense of pride that I can report
that although we didn’t quite manage to dislodge Madonna or Arsenal FC, we did move ahead of the Spurs and the Repair Workshop! Yet more substance to the notion that career highlights can surface in the most unlikely of settings…
RESPONSE OFFICER OF THE YEAR I was very proud to be able to introduce the NPCC Response Officer of the Year Award. This is a new initiative, created in partnership with the Police Federation, to recognise officers working within response policing and celebrate their dedicated career on the front line. The competition for the award was very strong, with 33 forces submitting nominations. There was an excellent calibre of entries showcasing the outstanding work of our response officers, demonstrating a breadth of evidence of exceptional service delivery, bravery and lifesaving attributes. It was clear that the officers also worked
The Police Federation has asked that the Response Officer of the Year Award 2023 be presented with other national awards at their Annual Conference later this year. Joe will be invited to receive his award as part of this conference. I am very grateful to our friends and
colleagues at the Police Federation for providing this opportunity to Joe, raising the profile of the award and for the wider support to the portfolio. It would be remiss of me not to mention the support we have had from Zac Mader and Leigh Godfrey from the National Board. Having had the privilege of meeting
“All the presentations have been uploaded to the “Response Policing” group on Knowledge Hub and can be used as CPDs throughout the year.”
well as a team, supporting colleagues and importantly nurturing the next generation of talented front-line officers. The judging panel was made up of HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Andy Cooke QPM, the Director of National Police Wellbeing Services (Oscar Kilo), Andy Rhodes QPM, Leigh Godfrey from the Police Federation of England and Wales, Chief Superintendent Andy Walker from the College of Policing along with myself as portfolio lead. The panel felt that the nomination for PC Joe Furniss from Northumbria Constabulary, epitomised dedication and commitment to response policing spanning a 22-year career. The panel was impressed with the courage and leadership he displayed during a critical incident at a football match, his life saving efforts, supportive tutoring approach and his proactive policing style (over 100 arrests in the last 12 months). HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Andy Cooke QPM, was particularly impressed with Joe’s proactive policing approach and his commitment to bring offenders to justice through the targeting of known individuals.
Joe and senior officers from Northumbria Police, Alex and I then drove to West Mercia to present one of two runners-up awards to Acting Sergeant Victoria Hallett. Victoria’s outstanding contribution to Response Policing included eight occasions in the last 12 months where she has provided CPR to members of the public. After leaving West Mercia HQ we then headed back up North for the night briefing at Darlington Police Station to present the final runners-up award to PC Thomas Cutts, described by colleagues as the ultimate professional. It was great to see the
support for all three officers from their Chief Constables and senior teams. Through preparation for the Week of Action and ongoing portfolio work we have fostered great working relationships with Oscar Kilo, the College of Policing, the Police Federation and HMICFRS. I am very grateful to them for their support and contribution to what has been very rewarding and positive week. We are already in the early planning
phase for next year’s Week of Action which will be held week commencing the 24th June 2024. One thing that has become abundantly clear following each Week of Action is the need to plan even earlier and have everything in place to be able to deliver a successful week. We will also look to improve on the feedback we receive from this year and have recently sent out surveys for each force to complete. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone who helped organise the week and those took part in Response Policing Week of Action 2023, and hope we can count on your continued support for the future.
25 | POLICE | AUGUST | 2023
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