The Year In Brief
2009
April
- The Safer Roads Partnership in West Mercia launched a new rider training programme aimed at reducing the number of collisions involving motorcycle and moped users. The 'Take Control' programme offered a range of training courses, either free or heavily subsidised, for any motorcyclists regardless of age or experience.
- Launch of Operation Protect, West Mercia's burglary action week, in order to reduce burglaries even further, reassure local communities about the low level of crime in their areas and ensure offenders are brought to justice.
- Kidderminster Police Station's new-look front counter opened to the public following a complete refurbishment of the existing front counter area, disabled access ramp and front doorway, to comply with Disability Discrimination Act legislation. Improvements include electronic push button doors to provide easier wheelchair access, a disabled toilet, and high level and low level desking.
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May
- West Mercia Police Authority approves change of the Force's name from West Mercia Constabulary to West Mercia Police.
- Body Worn Video (BWV) equipment, sometimes referred to as 'headcams', made available for all frontline uniformed officers and Community Support Officers within West Mercia. National trials have identified significant benefits for officers using BWV, including reductions in the time spent on paperwork due to increased early guilty pleas.
- Introduction of a speed awareness course, run by Telford Training Consultants (TTC), for some speeding motorists as an alternative to having points on their licence. Drivers are asked to pay £60 for the half day course and research has shown that drivers who are retrained are less likely to re-offend than those who are prosecuted.
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June
- West Mercia Police engaged in a drink and drug driving enforcement campaign from 1st - 30 June, in conjunction with the ACPO national drink drug drive campaign and the Safer Roads Partnership campaign.
- West Mercia Police introduce Community Resolution, a scheme whereby the victim of a minor crime is empowered to have a genuine say in identifying the way in which a crime could be ‘resolved' in a manner which meets their needs. It also empowers the victim to permit offenders who have behaved foolishly, rather than maliciously, to make amends for their mistake, rather than the police service having to pursue a criminal justice outcome.
- Get Involved Week, highlighted ways that residents could work alongside police in a number of voluntary roles. West Mercia promoted volunteering opportunities including becoming a special constable, joining the cadet scheme for 16 to 18 year-olds and getting involved in a Neighbourhood Watch scheme.
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July
- Official opening of the newly-refurbished Hereford Police Station, complete with a state-of-the-art custody suite with sixteen cells and spacious front counter/reception area for visitors and callers.
- Telford Cadet Scheme held a passing out parade for fourteen local teenagers who had completed two years as police cadets. The scheme, which is the only one of its kind in the West Midlands, has helped many youngsters over the years to build a variety of careers, including joining the Police.
- St Lawrence Primary School, Church Stretton, the Shropshire primary school that won West Mercia Police's Tag Rugby tournament in May, became national champions in the National Tag Rugby Finals, held at Rugby School. Part of their prize is the opportunity to play at Twickenham. West Mercia Police's Tag Rugby initiative, developed in partnership with the Rugby Football Union and Child Victims of Crime (CVOC), a children's charity supported by police forces, provides an opportunity to engage with local children and deliver personal safety messages.
- West Mercia ‘Respect Week', a force-wide campaign to highlight the positive measures police are taking to tackle anti-social behaviour, took place. A number of initiatives took place throughout the force area to raise awareness of the impact anti-social behaviour can have on others and to encourage communities to respect and tolerate each other.
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August
- Deputy Chief Constable David Shaw accepted the Disability Two Ticks Award from JobCentre Plus. The disability symbol is a recognition given by JobCentre Plus to employers based in Great Britain who have agreed to take action to meet five commitments regarding the employment, retention, training and career development of disabled people. By using the symbol we are making it clear to individuals with disabilities that we welcome applications from them and that we are positive about their abilities. It will also show existing employees that we value their contribution and will treat them fairly if they become disabled and build upon the positive work undertaken by the Disability Network in supporting colleagues and raising awareness.
- Stephen George Jackley was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment after appearing at Worcester Crown Court. The 23-year-old former Worcester University student pleaded guilty to 18 offences that took place in Worcester, Ledbury and Devon between September 2007 and March 2008. The offences included five armed robberies, three attempted armed robberies, seven firearms offences in relation to the robberies, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, one attempted burglary of a bank and one burglary.
- Telford & Wrekin's Community Messaging System - ‘Ringmaster' - signed up its 1000th member. The main aim of the system is to provide up-to-date information and crime prevention advice to members. Anyone who feels they would benefit from receiving information about crime is welcome to sign up.
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September
- West Mercia Police hosted a Help for Heroes event at Hindlip Hall, Worcester. The event was attended by more than 12,000 people and raised around £35,000 for the charity which helps to rehabilitate injured soldiers. Some of the money raised will go specifically to ‘rehabilitation houses' where soldiers recover from their injuries and learn to live with any disabilities they may have received.
- The annual Quality People Awards ceremony was held at Hindlip Hall, Worcester to recognise and reward the achievements of West Mercia staff.
- Herefordshire Police introduced Bluetooth technology as a method of transmitting messages on crime and safety themes to communities around the county. There is no cost to send the message and none to receive it.
- West Mercia Police joins a national trial that aims to improve emergency 999 access for people who are deaf, who have a hearing loss or impaired speech. The new initiative, in partnership with the RNID, allows users to send a text to 999, which will then get converted into a call to the emergency call centres. This means that caller ID and location information are available to the emergency service in the same way as for other calls.
- A series of community engagement events were held at Police Headquarters, when nearly 2,000 school children from across the force area came to Hindlip Hall to meet police officers and learn more about what the force does. The visit included a visit to the Dog Section, access to a variety of police vehicles and a presentation on Internet safety.
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October
- West Mercia Police identified as one of the ‘Top 50 Places Where Women Want to Work' in The Times list for 2009. The annual list recognises UK organisations with more than 1,000 employees and/or global brands, who most effectively recruit top female talent, retain and develop female employees and can show they have a number of successful and inspirational female role models.
- West Mercia Police graded as 'Good' in Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) assessment of its delivery of the policing pledge, one of only 8 police forces to achieve this grading.
- Ryan Allen, aged 18, and Rory McGhie, 19, from Redditch were jointly named Good Citizen of the Year 2009 for raising thousands of pounds for charity and being outstanding members of their local community. The annual Good Citizen Award recognises young people who have made an outstanding contribution to their community.
- West Mercia public protection work highlighted in a BBC ‘Panorama' documentary, explaining the work of MAPPA (Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements). The programme follows the publication of the 2008/09 MAPPA report which details the work of a number of organisations, including the police, prison and probation service. The agencies share crucial information to ensure sexual and violent offenders are effectively monitored and any risks to the public minimised.
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November
- The new West Mercia Police website was launched.
- As part of the Home Office's Not In My Neighbourhood Week, local policing teams across the force area launched a series of activities to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in the region, focusing on how local communities are affected by anti-social behaviour and what action is being taken.
- West Mercia Police hosted police officers from Spain, Italy and the Netherlands who wanted to find out how we engage with the public and address community issues. The European officers went out on patrol with local police and community support officers, visiting anti-social behaviour ‘hotspots', schools, shops and also accompanying officers during face to face engagement and on licensing checks.
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December
- Three men were given life sentences, with a recommendation that they should serve a minimum of 34 years each before they can be considered for release, for the murder of Craig Hodson-Walker, aged 29, who was shot and killed in a raid at Fairfield General Stores and Post Office in Worcestershire in January 2009. Also they were each given concurrent 34 year terms for the attempted murder of Craig's father Ken, who was also shot, 21 years for possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, and 21 years for attempted robbery at the post office stores. A fourth member of the gang, the getaway driver, was found not guilty of murder, attempted murder and possessing a firearm but admitted the attempted robbery, for which he received an eight year jail sentence.
- PC Dave Harte of Shrewsbury Rural South Local Policing Team was named Rural Watch Champion for 2009 by Watch co-ordinators for his dedication and hard work. A trophy is presented annually to the officer who makes the greatest contribution to Rural Watch in their area.
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2010
January
- Paul Deneen, current member and former Chair of the West Mercia Police Authority, awarded an OBE in the New Year's Honours for services to the community in Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
- West Mercia Police and Staffordshire Police jointly took delivery of a new police helicopter.
- West Mercia Police retained its ranking in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index (WEI) of the top 100 employers of gay people. Stonewall - a charitable organisation that campaigns and lobbies for equality for gay men, lesbians and bisexual people - has produced its annual Workplace Equality Index of the best employers since 2005.
- West Mercia Police participated in the Redditch Partnership event "We are Redditch" held in the Kingfisher Shopping Centre. The West Mercia display stand highlighted how police work in partnership with other agencies in Redditch to tackle alcohol related crime. The event also provided an opportunity to give the public crime prevention advice and to hand out Local Policing postcards, letting people know who their local police officers are and how they can be contacted.
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February
- 'Think b4 u post' was the theme of this year's Safer Internet Week which focused on the power of personal information and how it can be misused. A number of events were held around the force area focusing on how to reduce the risks online for children and young people. These events follow on from last year's successful presentations ‘Thinkuknow? Do you?' which focussed on developing parents' awareness around use of the internet.
- As part of the National Specials Weekend, members of West Mercia's Special Constabulary took part in a host of activities to make their communities safer, with a particular emphasis on road policing and speed enforcement.
- Launch of a ‘Police Surgery' at the Princess Royal Hospital, Telford. The surgery, which will be open from 2- 4pm on the second Thursday of each month, has been set up to give local people attending the hospital the chance to speak to local police officers and Community Support Officers to share any issues or concerns they have.
March
- West Mercia Police became one of a number of forces in England and Wales that agreed to take part in an extension of the Child Sexual Offender Review Disclosure Pilot. The scheme was developed in consultation with Sara Payne (the Victims' Champion), the police and children's charities. Under the pilot, first launched in September 2008, concerned individuals were given a formal mechanism to make enquiries about people who had unsupervised access to children.
- Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary Police Report Card was published. West Mercia Police was rated as 'good' for ‘Local Crime and Policing' and ‘Confidence and Satisfaction' and ‘fair' for ‘Protection from Serious Harm'. Within these categories, the force was graded as ‘excellent' for preventing knife crime and received a ‘good/excellent' grading for comparative satisfaction of our BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) community. West Mercia received no ‘poor' grades and HMIC also commented that, by national standards, West Mercia Police is a low-cost force.
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