POLICE volunteers were honoured at a special event – including from the Dorset force.
The annual Citizens in Policing Awards were held at the RNLI College in Poole on October 16 and attended by nominees from Avon and Somerset Police, British Transport Police, Devon & Cornwall Police, Gloucestershire Constabulary, Wiltshire Police and Dorset Police.
Dorset Police Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Farrell and Regional Lead for Citizens in Policing T/Assistant Chief Constable David Minty opened the event.
Other speakers included Tim Mann MBE and Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner, David Sidwick.
Among the winners was Rod Almidani, who joined Dorset Police’s Positive Action team in January 2022 and has already undertaken a significant number of hours of duties engaging and supporting members of the Muslim community.
He was named Police Support Volunteer of the Year.
Elsewhere, winners included Police Cadet of the Year Luke Taylor, of Devon & Cornwall Police.
He has been a cadet since he was 13 when the Torbay Unit was first formed in 2018. Now that Luke has turned 18, he has become a Cadet Instructor and has applied to become a Cadet Leader.
The Special Constable of the Year award went to Special Sergeant Jazz Smart, from the Gloucestershire Constabulary. She is also a qualified tutor and runs Op Disruptor – a Special Constabulary response to organised crime and drug dealing.
Chief Constable Scott Chilton said: “All our police staff volunteers, special constables or police cadets demonstrate amazing dedication and commitment to their communities, and the role they perform is essential to helping their police force deliver the very best service to the public.
“These awards are about recognising the tremendous work they carry out every day and to thank them for their service.”