The police have had some bad press in the past few years.  Not enough  of the good work they do gets reported with overstretched local media not able to cover all the good news stories and fewer people actually consuming local media in the first place.  The consequence of this has been a reduction in trust and confidence in the police.

I’ve had quite a few dealings with the police over the past few months in office and I have been impressed by the senior officers I have spent time with.   Chief Constable David Shaw strikes me as an intelligent and thoughtful leader, a good listener who respects people and is interested in what they have to say.  It is fascinating how the personality of leaders, even of large organisations, can quickly shape the culture of that organisation.  I like the culture that I have come across amongst Shropshire police and Chief Constable Shaw must take credit for that.

It was an ENORMOUS privilege to hear about the good stories at the Commendations and Awards Evening.   Superintendent David McWilliam, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Davies, Chief Inspector Jennie Mattinson, and Deputy Chief Constable Anthony Bangham read out the recipients achievements and handing out awards.    I would love to detail them all but there isn’t time here but there were awards for great detective work, bravery, excellent long term service and more.  It was great to see our highly respected local bobby, PC Anne Gutteridge, get a long service award and mention must go the Wells family – both husband and wife won awards.  Forensic investigator and award winner Annabel Hodgson looked as though she had come straight from the set of CSI and, as you would expect, has been dealing with extremely distressing incidents.  I just wish more members of the public could hear about all this great work.    One thing the police do need to address is the strange way they use language  – male and female persons – do they mean men and women??!.  There may be some sound reason for talking like this internally but with members of the public they need to talk normally.   I will be discussing this issue with cadets in the autumn.