Special constables, police support volunteers and police cadets were recognised for their contribution to community safety at the annual Citizens in Policing Awards held at the RNLI College in Poole.

Chief Constable Scott Chilton and Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick attended the awards to thank the nominees and winners for the contribution they make to the force.

Dorset Police currently has 113 special constables, who in the year to April 2022 found time to carry out a staggering 27,915 duty hours.

The 112 police support volunteers worked 5,853 hours over the same period in a variety of 30 roles, including role players for new police constables and special constables, CCTV operators at Wimborne and Blandford, volunteers for the Safe Bus in Bournemouth and administration support with Community Speed Watch. This number also includes the 19 volunteer police cadet leaders.

The force’s 63 police cadets are based at three units across the county – Bourne Academy in Bournemouth, Corfe Hills School and Wey Valley in Weymouth. Work is underway to expand the scheme into the Christchurch area.

Special inspector Stevie Tiernan was recognised for her leadership as a special constable and her role as a volunteer police cadet leader. She also picked up the Special Constabulary Long Service Medal for her exemplary service since January 2013 to the communities of Poole, where she remains an active officer in patrol and on the neighbourhood policing team. She juggles all her volunteering work alongside her day job as a police staff member for Dorset Police and home life with her husband and young son.

Other award winners included:

Innovation Award: Bourne Academy Cadet Unit for their involvement in an undercover Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) policing operation at hotels in Dorset suspected to be linked to CSE, county lines and where regular missing young people had been located.

Police Cadet of the Year: Senior Cadet Greay who joined the police cadets in July 2019 at the age of 13 and has been involved in supporting victims of cuckooing in West Howe, attending a bike tagging event in Bournemouth and supporting a road safety event in Poole.

Police Cadet Team of the Year: The NHS bike tagging team, that consists of cadets and leaders from Bournemouth and Corfe Hills, for their efforts in tagging 104 bikes at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital in October 2021.

Police Support Volunteer of the Year: Rod who joined the Positive Action team in January 2022 and has already undertaken 40 hours of duties engaging and supporting members of Dorset’s Muslim community.

Police Support Volunteer Team of the Year: The force’s Police Cadet Leaders team for their success in the expansion of cadet units in the county and a range of initiatives and operations to help make Dorset a safe county for everyone.

Special Constable of the Year: Special Constable Edgar joined in April 2021 and was attested on 28 November 2021. She has been commended by colleagues for her empathetic and caring approach and she juggles her volunteering with her full-time role within Dorset Police’s Force Command Centre.

Special Constabulary Team of the Year: Christchurch Special Constabulary Team for their involvement in Operation Swift, a proactive multi agency operation to target criminals who use the rail network to commit offences, including shoplifting, theft and county lines drug dealing.

Chief Constable Scott Chilton said: “I am always in awe of the dedication and commitment shown by our fantastic group of special constables, police support volunteers and police cadets. I was delighted to attend these awards and recognise those teams and individuals who make a real difference to our communities.

“Our volunteers perform vital roles to support the force and I am very proud to call them part of our policing family.

“They make Dorset a safe county for everyone, while supporting my priority to relentlessly pursue criminals.

“I thank them for all the commitment they continue to show and I would like to encourage others to consider a volunteering role with us.”

Dorset police and crime commissioner David Sidwick said: “I have had the honour of being the police and crime commissioner for Dorset for just over a year now and this is the second time I have had the privilege of attending the Citizens in Policing Awards. The professionalism, dedication, commitment and often the bravery shown by our volunteers is incredible.

“As part of the Citizens in Policing programme, the value volunteers add to policing, through improving community engagement, increasing available resources and skillsets, and allowing officers and staff to focus on frontline duties is essential.

“My office also relies on volunteers to help me in my role in scrutinising the work of the police and within the wider criminal justice system. The members of our Independent Custody Visiting Scheme all give their time to assist me in ensuring the welfare of detainees in our police custody suites, while the Out of Court Disposals Scrutiny Panel helps ensure that the use of Out of Court Disposals are appropriate, proportionate, and consistent and that’s only two of the many volunteer roles there are.

“The work of our volunteers is truly incredible, and I really want to encourage people from all backgrounds to consider what they might be able to do to help assist their community and I hope that the work reflected at the Citizens in Policing Awards and in Volunteers’ Week helps to highlight the work of volunteers and many ways to get involved.”

Recruitment for special constables is underway in Dorset. You can find out more about this role, as well as other volunteer and cadet roles by visiting: https://recruitment-dcp-dp.org/dorset-police-volunteers/#