Police share this latest news. Ed
The bravery, dedication and professionalism of officers in Hampshire have been celebrated at a special awards ceremony.
The Joint Operations Unit (JOU) Commendations Ceremony saw a total of 25 officers and staff recognised for excellent service and courage when faced with some truly threatening and daunting scenes.
The individuals, as well as three police dogs, were honoured at a ceremony on Friday, December 2, at Sulhamstead police training centre in Berkshire.
The Joint Operations Unit
The ceremony was hosted by JOU Chief Superintendent Stephen Williams and recognised the bravery and quick-thinking actions of the recipients who are part of the Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police JOU.
The JOU is a collaboration between Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police which covers three broad areas of policing, Operations, Roads Policing and Firearms.
The unit was formed to bring together highly specialised units and teams with a vast array of skills to protect the communities within the two force areas.
Inspiring stories
Chief Supt. Williams said:
“Hearing the inspiring stories of our officers makes me feel very proud to lead this Joint Operations Unit.
“Every day our officers are out there, serving our communities, never knowing what they will face and these examples we have heard at this ceremony just goes to show the dangers they can be confronted with and how lucky we are to have people who are willing to stand up for what is right.
“I am immensely proud of the dedication of our officers and staff who go above and beyond to keep our counties safe.”
We are pleased to be able to share details of three of the awards presented at the ceremony.
Sgt Damon Kennard, from the Marine Unit, Special Constable David Collins and PC David King
The quick-thinking actions of these three officers when faced with treacherous conditions saved the life of a stricken crew.
The trio responded to a Mayday call made by one of the vessels taking part in the Round the Island Yacht Race in July.
Alchemist had started to take on water after hitting a wreck at the Needles as they battled four meter high waves and force 6 winds.
The Police Launch Commander was immediately brought into action, crewed by the three officers.
PC Damon demonstrated exceptional boat hunting skills during the course of the rescue, which involved manoeuvring Commander alongside the stricken vessel.
SC Collins and PC King showed exceptional bravery by assisting the crew members across the police launch and ensured they got first aid.
With help from the RNLI the final two members were taken to safety although sadly the vessel could not be saved.
The entire incident was witnessed by a member of the public who emailed the force to praise the Commander’s crew because in his view, had it not been for these three officers, there would have been a fatality.
PC Emma Clifford from the Forensic Collision Investigation Unit and PC Dave Mitchell (unable to attend) from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit
The dedication and tenacity of PC Emma Clifford and PC Dave Mitchel ensured a dangerous offender was taken off our roads and jailed.
Despite having no independent witnesses to a collision which resulted in the death of a cyclist, PC Clifford and PC Mitchell made sure they got the evidence needed to put the driver responsible behind bars.
On August 12, 2015, Lee Martin was riding along the A31 near Bentley, when he was struck from behind at speed by a transit van.
Mr Martin, 48, sadly died and initial investigations showed that the driver, Christopher Gard, 30, from Alton, had previous convictions for using his mobile behind the wheel and had only been in court six weeks earlier.
PC Clifford and PC Mitchell began an extremely thorough investigation but there were no witnesses to confirm he was using his phone.
But despite this they presented a superbly compelling case showing that he had in fact been texting and had then deleted a number of messages from his phone before it was seized by police.
PC Clifford and PC Mitchell went to great lengths to prove this and it is testament to the quality of evidence submitted that Gard had no option but to plead guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
He was sentenced to nine years in jail and disqualified from driving for 14 years and six months.
Their outstanding work and meticulous investigation skills not only provided a positive outcome for the victim’s family but ensured a dangerous offender who had tried to escape the consequences of his actions was brought to justice.
PC Jim Gallimore and PC Dan Goulding from Totton Roads Policing Unit and PC Mark Furse, PC Lucy Hawkins and PC Dave Mitchell (unable to attend) from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit
Confronted with a difficult and challenging scene which was anything but routine, this team demonstrated outstanding dedication, teamwork and investigation skills to ensure the conviction of drunk driver who fled the scene of a fatal collision.
On February 16 officers were called to a single vehicle collision where a car had left the road and collided with a tree in Hordle.
Tragically the front seat passenger, 15-year-old Rebecca Marchant, died at the scene.
The driver, Alexander McBride, 34, of Hordle, however had fled the scene leaving Rebecca, who was the daughter of a family friend, and his daughter and niece, who were uninjured but in shock, in the car.
Officers went to McBride’s home and found him in a neighbouring garden.
The on-scene investigation was completed by the Roads Policing officers who provided an exceptionally comprehensive and high quality report to the Serious Collision Investigation Unit (SCIU) the next morning.
The quality and depth of their investigation was highly praised by the senior investigating officer.
McBride’s blood sample was fast tracked and within two days it showed he was over the drink drive limit and indicated traces of cannabis.
He subsequently pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving whilst over the prescribed limit and was jailed for four years and four months and disqualified from driving for five years and two months.
The time from collision to sentencing was just 37 days.
To get this conviction in such a short time is testament to the combined efforts and professionalism of the officers at the scene and the SCIU on what was a truly challenging and distressing case.
