It was with a deep sense of sadness that I heard about the deaths of two colleagues from Greater Manchester Police yesterday.
Whilst details are still emerging, Constables Fiona Bone (32) and Nicola Hughes (23) had been called to attend what was reported to be a domestic burglary.
Tragically, it appears they had been callously lured to their deaths. Sadly this scenario is all too familiar having lost so many of my colleagues in the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC and Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Policing is an extended family and when colleagues are killed, particularly in the line of duty, that sense of loss is felt right across the entire policing community locally, nationally and internationally.
I know Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy personally and as I watched him last night speaking to the media, it was very clear that Greater Manchester Police had lost two excellent colleagues and the community in which they served had lost two fine young police officers.
Yesterday morning they had started their shift and were out there doing the job they loved; helping, supporting and reassuring the people of Hattersley.
Our Chief Constable has written to Sir Peter offering the sincere condolences of the officers and staff of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and any help and support whatsoever that we may be able to offer at this time.
Our thoughts and prayers are very much with the families of Fiona and Nicola, and our colleagues in Greater Manchester, at this very sad and difficult time.
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Thursday, 6 September 2012
Policing with the Community endorsed
This week I have been involved in judging, along with the Policing Board Chairman and senior colleagues including a representative from the Police Federation, applications for the Police Officer of the Year Award 2012.
There are eight categories in all, two of these where members of the public can nominate an individual officer or a Neighbourhood Policing Team for a Policing with the Community Award.
It is really encouraging to see the number of officers who were nominated by members of the public or by partner organisations, and to read about the breadth and depth of work that is going on across the districts and departments. This work was also publicly endorsed at the start of the week by the Criminal Justice Inspectorate's report into Policing with the Community. So selecting the winners was an extremely difficult decision to make.
The past few days have shown the wide range of challenges faced by police officers, often involving exposure to grave personal risk. Despite these challenges, police officers and staff are pushing the boundaries every single day to work closely with communities to deliver personal professional and protective policing. Today police officers, supported by police staff, will be out and about as usual all over Belfast and across Northern Ireland, delivering a policing service in partnership with the community.
The very many initiatives highlighted in the applications also show how communities have embraced policing, working together to make very significant differences in tackling crime and addressing ‘quality of life' issues which can have a great impact on local areas.
We need to build on the success of these initiatives in partnership with Executive Departments and local agencies, to ensure that those areas of greatest need receive the support they require to make a real long term difference.
I want to thank those members of the public and representatives from such a variety of partner agencies who took the time to complete and submit applications. We welcome feedback, both positive and negative, on how we provide a policing service to everyone.
As a member of the Judging Panel, it was a pleasure to read so many encouraging comments. I look forward to the announcement in the next few weeks of who will be the 2012 Police Officer and Neighbourhood Policing Team of the Year.
There are eight categories in all, two of these where members of the public can nominate an individual officer or a Neighbourhood Policing Team for a Policing with the Community Award.
It is really encouraging to see the number of officers who were nominated by members of the public or by partner organisations, and to read about the breadth and depth of work that is going on across the districts and departments. This work was also publicly endorsed at the start of the week by the Criminal Justice Inspectorate's report into Policing with the Community. So selecting the winners was an extremely difficult decision to make.
The past few days have shown the wide range of challenges faced by police officers, often involving exposure to grave personal risk. Despite these challenges, police officers and staff are pushing the boundaries every single day to work closely with communities to deliver personal professional and protective policing. Today police officers, supported by police staff, will be out and about as usual all over Belfast and across Northern Ireland, delivering a policing service in partnership with the community.
The very many initiatives highlighted in the applications also show how communities have embraced policing, working together to make very significant differences in tackling crime and addressing ‘quality of life' issues which can have a great impact on local areas.
We need to build on the success of these initiatives in partnership with Executive Departments and local agencies, to ensure that those areas of greatest need receive the support they require to make a real long term difference.
I want to thank those members of the public and representatives from such a variety of partner agencies who took the time to complete and submit applications. We welcome feedback, both positive and negative, on how we provide a policing service to everyone.
As a member of the Judging Panel, it was a pleasure to read so many encouraging comments. I look forward to the announcement in the next few weeks of who will be the 2012 Police Officer and Neighbourhood Policing Team of the Year.
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