Chief’s message April 2015 is a hugely important time for Hampshire Constabulary. Officers, staff, our partners, members of the public, external stakeholders… they will all be affected in some way by the organisation’s new-look policing model. For many months now we have been planning and moving the pieces into place to enable the transition. This month sees a number of new force commands officially go live, with new ways of operating starting across Response and Patrol, Prevention and Neighbourhoods, and Intelligence, Tasking and Development (ITD). I want to be clear about what these changes to policing will mean – how these commands are working together, the challenges we are uncovering as we put plans into reality, and what you need to know. It is important that we are all able to explain what we are doing and why to colleagues, to partners and to our communities. Turn to pages 8-11 to read the views of the heads of the new commands as they talk about the changes, key challenges and how they are working together to turn plans into reality. First up is Response and Patrol, with a view from its commander, Chief Superintendent Rich John, and an update on the Resolution Centre. T/Chief Superintendent Ben Snuggs then provides a progress report on the Investigation command that he leads, and which was the first to go live back in January. Finally, Chief Superintendent Dave Powell talks about the challenges and opportunities he sees as head of Prevention and Neighbourhoods. The views and explanations you read from these commanders should give you a good idea of what Hampshire Constabulary looks like in 2015. You’ll notice that their insights dovetail with each other or share similar themes. This is no coincidence; it demonstrates the hard work that has gone into the planning of the new-look force. It will take time to see the full benefits of the new policing model. As we do this we need to keep the focus on protecting the public, catching criminals, and preventing and detecting crime. Our policing model is changing, but our vision remains the same – to make Hampshire and the Isle of Wight a place where people will always feel safe to live, work and visit.
SAVE THE DATE
SATURDAY
JUNE 6 11am - 5pm
do you have a story? Get in touch! To contact us, and for all other editorial enquiries, email the Frontline mailbox or frontline@hampshire.pnn.police.uk Write to us at: Frontline, Corporate Communications, Hampshire Constabulary, Police HQ, Romsey Road, Winchester, Hants, SO22 5DB
Frontline is available online via the Hampshire Constabulary website: www.hampshire.police.uk/frontline Editor Aaron Brown Designer Mark Harrington
Next issue: June/July 2015 Copy deadline: May 15, 2015 The contents of Frontline do not necessarily represent the views of the chief constable, the editor or Hampshire Constabulary.
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OUR VISION To make Hampshire and the Isle of Wight a place where people will always feel safe to live, work and visit.
CONTENTS national honour for rpu officer
man jailed for officer assault
People • Stories • Events
4
6
7
new-look force goes live 10-15
child abuse team receives award
16
getting social
it’s a wrap! media production head retires after 40 years
The best of Hampshire Constabulary online
18
hants on top in signing challenge
more units added as Volunteer Police cadets scheme grows 21
Choir celebrates 75 years
past times
25
TOP tHREE FORCE OPERATIONAL PRIORITIES
20
tea break
23
24
leisure and sport
26 1 Victim satisfaction
28 2 Crime data integrity
3 Burglary
Force Operational Priorities 03
The people, stories and events that should be on your radar this month
TOn UP for WOMEN IN POLICING
INCREASE IN POLICE COUNCIL TAX APPROVED
INVESTIGATION CENTRE GIVEN GREEN LIGHT
ACPO MAKES WAY FOR NEW CHIEFS’ COUNCIL
2015 is a landmark anniversary for the constabulary as it marks 100 years of women being involved in the policing of Hampshire. A lot has changed since Annette Tate became the first woman to be appointed in our force area. To mark the progress that women have made over the decades within policing, a celebration event was organised at Netley HQ by the force’s Inspire network. Chief Constable Andy Marsh addressed an audience that saw serving officers and staff joined by retired colleagues, many of whom helped pave the way to create a force where women can do anything they choose to. You can watch a video, shown on the day, via the force’s OfficialHantsPolice YouTube channel. Look out for more celebratory events throughout the year, including Families Day on June 6.
Hampshire councillors have agreed to Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Hayes’ request to raise the police precept element of council tax by 1.99 per cent – the maximum amount possible without a referendum taking place. The motion was passed by 12 votes to six. The decision by members of the Police and Crime Panel will mean an additional £3.07 a year for an average Band D household and comes into effect in this month (April). Mr Hayes said: “It’s about supporting fewer officers to do their job to protect people across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight because that’s what people want. I think that £3.07 a year is not too much to pay. I do think it’s critically important to maintain that service if we’re going to ask people to put their lives on the line to protect us.”
Planning permission has been received and a contract has been signed for the 250-year leasehold purchase of a site at Viables Business Park, Basingstoke, to build a Police Investigation Centre (PIC). The centre will provide short-term custodial facilities to support quicker processing and handling of detainees, allowing frontline police officers to return to duty quicker. Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Hayes said: “When I launched my estate strategy in 2013, I committed to replace ageing custody cells with modern Police Investigation Centres to meet future policing needs. I am delighted to announce that planning permission has been received for the construction of a Police Investigation Centre in Basingstoke.” Building is due to start this year and the centre is expected to open in 2016.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has this month (April) been replaced by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). Established in 1948, ACPO brought together top officers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to lead the development of operational policing practices. The NPCC will “help police cut crime and keep the public safe, by joining up the operational response to the most serious and strategic threats”, ACPO said in a statement. It will be hosted by – but be independent of – the Metropolitan Police. The chief constable of Thames Valley Police, Sara Thornton (pictured), has left the force after 14 years following her appointment as chair of the NPCC. She will effectively replace Sir Hugh Orde, who is standing down as president of ACPO.
BYE-BYE
0845 04
All non-emergency calls to Hampshire Constabulary must now be made via 101 as the old 0845 045 45 45 number has been decommissioned. Officers and staff are asked that during your day-to-day activities you please direct members of the public to use 101 where appropriate, but do reiterate that in an emergency they should always call 999. Don’t forget to update your email signature to reflect the change, and remove any mention of 0845 from emails or web pages that you oversee.
QUOTE UNQUOTE Whether we like what they say or not, people are never short of an opinion on policing...
Pictured L-R are Policing Minister Mike Penning, PCC Simon Hayes, Sergeant Kerry Lawrence and Winchester MP Steve Brine
Hampshire police praised in Parliament Hampshire Constabulary has been congratulated by ministers during a Parliamentary debate, for both our efficiency and the way we are embracing new technology. Following his recent visit to Winnall, Winchester, Policing Minister Mike Penning drew attention to the “fantastic” work of the constabulary’s officers and staff. In the Parliamentary exchange he said: “I was amazed to discover that what I, an ex-fireman, had assumed was a fire station, was actually a joint fire and police station, something that I had not seen before. The two forces had come together to share their facilities and keep their costs down.” Sir George Young, MP for North West Hampshire, agreed, highlighting what he sees as an anomaly in police funding, which he says disadvantages us as a force. He said: “Hampshire is one of the most efficient forces in the country, but which receives one of the lowest per capita grants. Will (you) ensure that as that grant is reviewed, authorities such as Hampshire are not penalised for being efficient?”
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Later in the debate, Mr Penning illustrated an example of the dangers faced by our officers, as well as the important role of technology in policing today. He said: “(I want) to pay tribute to the frontline officers in Hampshire, and to the bravery of one of them in particular. A uniformed female sergeant (Kerry Lawrence), whom I met, had been beaten so severely that she had become unconscious, after about the third time that her head was banged on the kerb. We know that her head hit the kerb about six more times, because the body-worn camera that has been piloted so brilliantly in Hampshire provided the evidence. It was a real pleasure to see that brave officer back in uniform and back on the frontline.” Sergeant Lawrence’s attacker, 25-year-old Craig Radbourne, has now been sentenced. Turn to page 7 to read the full story.
The number of requests for information received by Hampshire Constabulary under the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme since it went live across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in March 2014.
It’s a common sense decision and that’s because there is nothing wrong with showing support for something that you care deeply about. Chief Constable Andy Marsh explains the force’s stance on allowing our officers to wear a Thin Blue Line patch on their uniform for charity
Too often police are being used as the service of first resort. College of Policing lead for crime and criminal justice, Dave Tucker, responding to a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary which revealed parents are frequently calling the police to discipline their disruptive children
We feel that it is a clear breach of the Code of Ethics that puts the honesty and integrity of our officers and staff into question. Nicole Cornelius, chair of the constabulary’s Ethics Committee, explaining the committee’s decision to call a halt to our officers and staff using warrant/ID cards to gain free travel on public transport when travelling to and from work
96%
The percentage of police officer roles within Hampshire Constabulary that are now on the front line – the third highest in England and Wales. In 2010 the figure was 85%.
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Roads policing officer scoops national award Years of dedication to keeping the people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight safe on our roads has won Sergeant Rob Heard the Association of Chief Police Officers and Police Federation Outstanding Contribution to Roads Policing Award 2014.
Sergeant Rob Heard (left) receiving his award from Chief Constable Andy Marsh
Force opens UK’s first Forensic Innovation Centre A new police forensic centre – the first of its kind in the country – has opened at the University of Portsmouth.
University of Portsmouth vice-chancellor Professor Graham Galbraith, Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Hayes and Chief Constable Andy Marsh
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Rob, who has worked within the Roads Policing Unit for 22 years and is currently the force lead on road safety, was presented with the award in recognition of his work creating and establishing the Older Drivers Forum. The forum was set up in 2013 with the aim of keeping older drivers safely on the roads for longer, and helping relatives and carers deal with the issues that can be associated with older drivers. The forum was Rob’s idea, and he has worked tirelessly to liaise with partner agencies to co-ordinate its many activities and support services. Chief Constable Andy Marsh said: “I am very proud of the work Rob has done in helping to keep older drivers stay on the road, safely. The forum and its website are a fantastic resource to help inform and reassure. This award is very well deserved recognition.” Sergeant Heard said: “It is basically about raising awareness of the services available to drivers aged 60 plus to
help keep them driving safely for longer, and to encourage people to have regular eye-sight tests and, especially, take voluntary assessments to help build confidence and understand whether they remain fit to drive. “The forum can also provide assessments to check, following a collision, whether a person is safe or not to continue and, where appropriate, signpost refresher training.
“I feel greatly honoured to have received this award. It feels a bit like winning an Oscar in the roads policing world. “I would like to dedicate this award to Neil Colquhoun and his mother Patricia, who were the inspiration behind the creation of the forum. Neil tragically died in a collision in 2011 when an 89-year-old man drove the wrong way for over a mile along the A30 at Old Basing. “His car collided head-on with Neil’s. Neil
died at the scene and our investigation found that the 89-year-old man was blind in one eye and below the legal eyesight limit in the other. However, he felt he was genuinely fit to drive. “From that, we came up with the idea of the forum, and we hope by doing so we can prevent another tragedy like this. We are not about taking people off the road – we are about trying to help people keep their independence and carry on driving safely, for longer.” In the 18 months since it was established, the forum’s website has had in excess of 20,000 hits. It has also run two weeks of awareness events, which have been attended by more than 1,000 people. Sgt Heard is also now a national lead on older driver issues and is helping the Department for Transport and Road Safety Foundation develop national strategy in this growing area. For more details visit the Older Drivers Forum website at olderdriversforum.com
The move is part of a joint initiative which will see police and academics working side by side to develop forensic research and help detect and reduce crime. The centre was officially opened by Chief Constable Andy Marsh, Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Hayes and the university’s vicechancellor, Professor Graham Galbraith. Professor Galbraith said: “This is an important and exciting step for the university as it will enhance the student experience as well as strengthen and grow the research network in policing, investigation and
forensic studies.” The centre will also house a purpose designed two-bedroom flat for students to practise analysing mock crime scenes such as assaults and murders. Mr Marsh said: “Having the right buildings, equipment and support is critically important to the provision of excellent policing service – one that puts victims, witnesses and the community at the heart of policing. “Opening the Forensic Innovation Centre as a joint initiative with the university will see police working with academics and students to help us keep people safe,
detecting and reducing crime.” PCC Simon Hayes said: “In 2013, I launched my estate strategy, which highlighted my commitment to partnership as a key to our success. Since then, work has continued to build on partnerships to enable us to provide fitfor-purpose facilities that support future policing objectives, while ensuring the best value for the investments made with public funds. “I am delighted that the centre will enable police and academics to work side by side to develop forensic research and help in the detection of crime.”
Three year sentence for attack on Hampshire officer caught on camera
Sergeant Kerry Lawrence
It was one of the most talked about police videos in recent times. The shocking footage taken from the body-worn camera of Sergeant Kerry Lawrence from when she was assaulted in July last year, was released following the sentencing hearing. It was shared thousands of times via social media and viewed millions of times by people all over the world. The decision to release the footage wasn’t taken lightly and ultimately the decision lay with Sgt Lawrence. She was fully supported throughout and, although it was difficult, wanted to show the world the realities of modern policing. The footage showed what a judge described as a “shocking” and “brutal” attack. Craig Radbourne (pictured), of Stanmore Gardens, Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm. He was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court. Her Honour Judge Susan Evans QC jailed the 25-yearold for a total of 36 months. The attack happened in the early hours of July 6, 2014, when Sgt
Lawrence was responding to a report of a burglary in progress in Church Square, Basingstoke. Radbourne was arrested by the officer on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly. He had been placed in handcuffs and into a police car before additional units arrived. However, before officers arrived, Radbourne managed to strike out at Sgt Lawrence, viciously attacking her and banging her head on the ground several times. He was subsequently re-arrested by other officers nearby and taken into police custody. Chief Inspector Simon Dodds said: “Police officers come to work knowing that their job has an element of risk. However, assaulting an officer must never be seen as just part of the job. This was a disgusting attack on a member of my team, who works tirelessly to serve her
community. “I know it was an extremely traumatic experience for Sergeant Lawrence and her family and it also had a significant impact on her team and others at Basingstoke police station. Sergeant Lawrence is now back on full duties, which is to her absolute credit.” John Apter, chairman of Hampshire Police Federation, said: “This should send a strong message to the public that assaulting a police officer is not acceptable in any circumstances.” Speaking after the media storm had died down, Sgt Lawrence said: “I have been overwhelmed by the messages of support from my family, friends, colleagues and members of the public. I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and gestures, it really is appreciated.”
views from facebook Please pass on my thanks to the Sgt for doing the job that she does, and for the professionalism shown under extreme duress. I am so glad that she made a full recovery physically, and I hope mentally as well. Luke Smith The video made me feel sick. 3 years is disgusting....bet he is out in less and won’t have learnt any lesson or show any remorse. what am amazing officer...putting her life on the line to protect the public. Joanne Ball That was awful to watch, so glad the female officer has recovered x Addie Elmes 3 Years is a disgrace!! He could have killed her!! What an amazing officer, still continuing to do her job, even after the vicious assault! Credit to the Police Force! Sarah Tulloch
Contact changes: Connect My Police The contact management programme is launching under a new name and logo to convey what it is really about: a Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police citizen-focused programme to improve contact with the public and provide staff, particularly those in our contact centres, with the tools to do their jobs even better. It’s about connecting people to the police
using their preferred ways of getting in touch: phone, online, SMS, web chat, social media; enabling them to make/change appointments, report and track incidents online, request or add information, all in a seamless way. For staff in both forces this means better, faster and more insightful responses to the
challenges we face to do our jobs, assess risk, threat, harm and vulnerability. Connect My Police relies on new integrated mapping, as well as speech, text and customer management technology. We are looking at releasing the first new features from summer 2015. Connect My Police is
involving citizens in helping us shape the services they want to use, and we’ve been surveying thousands of people in Hampshire and Thames Valley. We are also involving staff in designing and testing the new technologies, making sure they are equipped to do their jobs. Contact Management Programme
07
New crime classifications set to provide clarity Changes to policing that are set to go live this month (April) will provide clarity for officers and assist Hampshire Constabulary with the quality of its crime recording. The three updates, which have been driven by the Home Office, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), cover three main areas – the accurate recording of rape incidents, the 24-hour rule and the introduction of a new “Other agency dealing” outcome.
Recording all reported incidents of rape The force is improving the way in which reported incidents of rape and attempted rape – which are not immediately classified as crimes – are recorded on Altaris and RMS. When a rape or attempted rape is reported, it must be recorded in line with the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS). If for any reason a crime record is not immediately created, a “RAPE/NON HO CODE: Non-crime Rape Incident” must be recorded in the “Class” field, which can be found under the Stats Classification tab within RMS (see screenshot). From April 1, 2015, all forces will be required to provide data to the Home Office about reported incidents of rape and attempted rape under the Home Office classification code of N100. The introduction of the N100 Incident of Rape classification code reinforces the importance of recording every reported incident of rape, as well as creating a simple and standardised means of doing so. In addition, the N100 code will also enable the force to better understand the nature and extent of rape incident reporting and help to ensure the quality of its Crime Data Integrity (CDI).
08
“Other agency dealing” outcome
24-hour rule
A new outcome is now available for recorded crimes that have been passed to another body or agency for further action. The “Other agency dealing (Investigative primacy)” outcome option is now available via the OIC Final Working Sheet. Currently, this outcome is most likely to apply to recorded crimes being managed by the Central Referral Unit (CRU) that are passed on to Social Services, which had previously had no simple or obvious way of being resolved within RMS. In addition, the new option will also allow the constabulary to keep an accurate record of any such referrals. An example of the new outcome being applied in practice would relate to a common assault allegation of a parent hitting a child, where there was no previous history of offending. The incident may have been reported to the police by Social Services, and then recorded as a crime, but no investigation would take place as Social Services would take any further action necessary. Assistant Chief Constable Jason Hogg said: “The constabulary is going through a number of different changes at the current time. However, we have tried to incorporate some of the new national directives in such a way as to make life a little less complicated for officers on one hand, while ensuring on the other that our crime recording processes are accurate and easier to understand.”
The introduction of a national 24-hour rule will mean that there is an expectation that all notifiable crimes be recorded within 24 hours of the initial report/first point of contact. Since last year’s HMIC CDI Audit, Hampshire Constabulary officers have already been working to a 24-hour rule, where crime is recorded on the day of the incident, unless there is an exceptional reason not to do so. The reason for doing this is because it has been proven that the earlier a crime is logged, the more likely it is that it will be recorded accurately at the first time of asking. As a result, our force is ahead of the game in terms of applying this new CDI safeguard, while other forces are having to adjust their processes at short notice.
Historically, the intranet has been structured around the force hierarchy/rank structure, but this has proved confusing for staff and increasingly difficult to maintain through the varied change processes that the constabulary has undergone in recent years. As a result, the restructure of the intranet is set to focus more on how people work, rather than who they work under, with the following high-level headings to be implemented on the top navigation bar over the coming weeks and months: ¾¾ Commands ¾¾ Departments & Units ¾¾ People Zone ¾¾ Partners ¾¾ Reference Library ¾¾ Programmes & Projects ¾¾ Senior Exec Team Although the replacement intranet project hasn’t yet started, the plan is to structure the new intranet (44Net) in the same way as this. The process for realigning the intranet is expected to take several months, with the first change that people will notice set
to be the removal of the “Chief Finance Officer” link, which will be replaced with “Commands”. At this time, all finance options will still be accessible via the Search facility to the left of the homepage. At the same time as moving channels, they will also be renamed if the associated department/team has changed name. The content of individual pages, plus the permissions associated with each channel, are not being affected by this restructure – these remain the responsibility of the respective departments/teams. Ahead of any restructure, page/channel owners are urged to ensure that their content is upto-date and, in particular, that any internal links have been created in the correct manner, to ensure that they do not “break” when channels are moved. Ben Pratt, head of Corporate Communications, said: “Restructuring the current intranet will make the site easier to navigate, as well as providing a much more coherent layout, as the force moves towards new ways of working from April 2015 and beyond.”
Where’s Postbag gone? Frontline has received a number of enquiries asking where the letters page has gone. We have decided to stop running the Postbag page in the publication because the format did not enable us to provide sufficiently comprehensive responses to the issues raised. We will still print readers’ letters, but instead we’d like to run letters at various places throughout the publication or have guest writers focus on topics the questions flag up. Please continue to send your contributions to Frontline using the contact details shown on page 2.
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The structure of Hampshire Constabulary’s intranet is changing in order to make it a more effective and relevant tool for officers and staff.
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Restructured intranet to more accurately reflect the force in 2015
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BWV Showcase winner hits the Mark A Response and Patrol PC from the Isle of Wight has become the first winner of the force’s BodyWorn Video (BWV) showcase. PC Mark Radford submitted a clip that demonstrated the qualities of Leadership and Respect as set out in the College of Policing’s Code of Ethics and will shortly be receiving his prize of a GoPro Hero3 camera worth £150. Mark was part of a team of officers who assisted Children’s Services with the removal of a child from an address that was under a Care Plan. He was met with an understandably hostile reception from the family. However, despite the difficult circumstances, he remained calm, treating the family with respect, as well as demonstrating leadership skills in taking control of the situation. Following the incident, the force’s Professional Standards Department (PSD) received a complaint. However, PC Radford’s body-worn video (BWV) footage disproved any accusations, and a PSD representative also praised Mark’s professional, calm and empathetic attitude, in what was a difficult situation. Thanks go to all those who took the time to submit their BWV clips, which demonstrated some excellent examples of the type of behaviour that we would expect from our officers. The footage will help the force to showcase best practice and will also serve as a learning tool. In a revision to the original format, for the next BWV showcase we would like you to submit clips that demonstrate any of the nine Policing Principles from the Code of Ethics – Accountability, Fairness, Honesty, Integrity, Leadership, Objectivity, Openness, Respect and Selflessness. The clip that is judged to be the best will see the submitting officer rewarded with a GoPro Hero3 camera worth £150. To find out how to enter, search “BWV showcase” on the intranet. 09
Pushing the boundaries: why borderless policing is the right move Chief Superintendent Rich John explains why the way in which Hampshire Constabulary carries out response will no longer be defined by a geographical area when the new policing model goes live this month.
Borderless policing removes the boundaries we worked within and will enable us to better target our resources to meet anticipated demand and support the principle of the control room being able to deploy the right resources to not only be more efficient, but ensure we are effective and delivering a quality service. Put into simple terms, when a member of the public calls 999, the nearest and most appropriate officer will be deployed. The work we have completed will fundamentally change the way Hampshire Constabulary responds to incidents. With less money, we need to do things differently and deliver more efficient and streamlined practices to meet the modern challenges – simply carrying on as we were was not an option. We have to work across all the commands and support each other to meet the challenge. We’re not one team, but rather a number of commands working together to deliver
Response and Patrol timeline
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an excellent policing service. What’s been evident throughout this significant change is the energy, passion and desire to make things work from our staff and leadership teams. I’m grateful to everyone who has risen to the challenge at a time that has been particularly difficult for many of you. Chief Inspector Steve Burridge, who has been a driving force behind the move to borderless policing, commented: “Our overall mission is to professionalise the response and patrol element and to really improve that front-end service of delivery. We knew that we couldn’t just go live in April with a big bang approach, so in the past six months there’s been a huge amount of work taking place around intelligently deploying our resources at the right time and to the right place. This is not just about being more efficient though. We have a lot of excellent officers and staff already delivering, but we want to add value to those existing parts of the force.
November We made changes in the control room in terms of how we control various dispatch groups and radio channels.
How does borderless policing work? As part of borderless policing, Response and Patrol officers begin and end their shift duty at a particular hub station. However, once they are on duty, these officers will spend most of their time on the road responding to incidents as they occur, and as directed by the Force Control Room. We will continue to monitor and assess the resources, and how and when these are allocated to each station, to ensure units deploying from each hub meet demand across the districts. With the reality of fewer officers, this resourcing process and deployment plan ensures that officers are available to respond to incidents in both urban and rural parts of the two counties, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
January Working with investigation teams as investigation centres were stood up. This completed the picture: ¾¾ ¾¾ ¾¾ ¾¾
Resolution Centre Force Control Room Prevention and Neighbourhoods Investigation centres
October
December
Jan 14
Resolution Centre goes live.
First merged team, Fareham and Gosport. First pilot site. Started to test some of the concepts – teams deployed outside of their border area.
Southampton/Hedge End/ Portswood districts combined.
“The phasing in of this programme has been done to maintain business as usual, and to ensure we learn as we go. We don’t expect it to all go smoothly from the off, so we’ll need to keep adapting.” Under the new model there are 12 Response and Patrol “hubs” located strategically around Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Previously we were maintaining 21 bases, which took a lot of energy and expense to do so. Our response officers now operate in a borderless fashion rather than being restricted to geographical districts. The control room will continue to risk assess incidents and allocate the nearest available and appropriate police resource to respond. Our Response and Patrol officers will still
When a member of the public calls 999, the nearest and most appropriate officer will be deployed. respond as usual to the most serious emergency calls (Grade 1 and 2), but will operate as “one team” with softened geographical boundaries. Ch Insp Burridge is keen to point out that borderless policing requires input from all areas of the force: “This isn’t a strand of working. It’s not a Response and Patrol thing – it’s everyone working together and a whole new way of working. How do we ensure quality investigations? How do we get victim care right? We’re working with Estates, IT and Transport to ensure borderless policing is as effective as it can
be. Co-ordination between district commanders is key, along with quality intelligence products, to deliver effective patrols to prevent crime.” Borderless policing has already been a reality in Fareham and Gosport since December. Chief Inspector Jim Pegler, the district commander for both locations, explains how the first merged Response and Patrol teams are making the new policing model work in his district: “In Fareham and Gosport we are working through the process of getting Response and Patrol resources in the right place and right time through tasking and briefing. A good example of where we are getting it right is a recent series of 22 thefts from motor vehicles in the Park Gate area, which was stopped by excellent patrol and primary investigation work from R&P officers. “It was R&P’s ‘E’ shift who stopped and searched a group in the right place. Although there were no grounds to arrest, the officers made notes of property and subsequently linked that property to vehicle crime in the area. The officers later located the suspects and recovered a lot of property that linked the group to other incidents in Lee-on-Solent and Winchester. “As a district commander, it is a difficult cultural change not to own and deploy local assets as I see fit, but this is proper evidence of how it can work. There is massive cultural change needed from everyone to embed a borderless ‘one team’ approach. One day soon there won’t be Fareham jobs or Portsmouth prisoners – there will just be the most appropriate police officer responding, good quality investigations taking place and victims receiving a great service.”
Reducing demand The first part of the implementation plan for borderless policing started in October 2014 with the formation of a Resolution Centre. The centre was set up to help manage demand for our services more efficiently, with a combination of officers and staff handling calls in the Force Control Room (FCR) and Force Enquiry Centre (FEC). The results have been impressive, enabling the force to successfully resolve more incidents at the first point of contact, as Chief Inspector Steve Fower explains: “In the first three months, and compared to the same period last year, we saw nearly 8,800 fewer deployments by the FCR (a reduction of 16 per cent). “The Resolution Centre has piloted and is now managing all low-risk missing persons. And, in January, the centre took responsibility for managing all dissatisfaction reports from the Western Area districts, with Northern and Eastern set to follow by April. This will mean that around 3,500 minor complaints that are currently sent to districts will be managed and resolved by the centre, and only those that require action due to higher levels of misconduct will be tasked to local managers. “Although these figures are encouraging, we are aware that there is still further work that could be taken from the front line, especially around reducing the number of Grade 2 incidents that remain undeployed by the FCR and are then passed for local action. Work on reducing those numbers continues.”
Jan 26 onwards
March 1
From April 1
Full implementation of borderless policing. Fareham, Gosport, Waterlooville, Alton and Portsmouth start operating as one borderless team. This is to continue being implemented across other districts.
We adopted final districts across the force – New Forest, Winchester, Andover, Basingstoke, Farnborough. At that point we had fully taken leadership of all of our staff.
We’ve still got a host of estates moves to make throughout 2015, including Farnborough and Portsmouth.
Feb 16
End of March
All response officers in New Forest located in a single base in Lyndhurst.
Final big estates move into Hedge End. Whole command being live and operating by April 1. 11
Early days of Investigation: a reality check T/Detective Chief Superintendent Ben Snuggs gives his analysis of the first 10 weeks
The Investigation command went live on January 14. We knew this was going to be a significant change and wanted to get in early and test how the new command worked knowing that a significant number of officers and staff were joining us from other parts of the force. Ten weeks in and I’ve seen a really committed response. Right from day one, teams of officers and staff have worked flexibly and moved across teams and across former geographical Area boundaries to ensure the whole range of volume, serious and complex investigations have been resourced effectively. But it’s not all been plain sailing.
What has been crucial is having staff who are prepared to give a tremendous amount to maintain day-today business. The command started with a staff shortage and these vacancies have been difficult to fill. In addition, while an independent review of the Resolution Centre shows that it’s doing a fantastic job of reducing the deployment of frontline staff to calls for service, it has added to the Investigation command workload. The really positive thing is that we have lots of feedback, supported by good data, which reinforces this situation. As commanders, we have 12
worked together to take positive steps to address this by already identifying a number of crimes that will be responded to by Response and Patrol colleagues, rather than tasked through the Resolution Centre to investigators. This is helping to reduce the demand while we resolve the staffing shortages. And it isn’t just a case of moving the problem around – we’re matching up demand with the available resource at particular times. With change on this scale, you have to expect teething problems. What has been crucial is having staff who are prepared to give a tremendous amount, professionally and personally, to maintain day-today business, deliver good victim satisfaction and retain a positive outlook. The test of how effective we are as a command, as leaders, supervisors and team members, is in how we deal with challenges, and remain adaptable and flexible while we make it better. We also need to get better as a force at dealing with low-level crimes at the point of the incident, ie through using out of court disposals. In the right circumstances, these are an effective way of dealing with some crimes, keeping people out of custody and reducing the impact on any custody and investigation resources. Rest assured, as commanders we are all committed to making this new force structure work. We will continue to work together to problem-solve, bed in new working practices and support staff with the training and development opportunities they need, to help make us efficient and effective in delivering our business.
Investigations by numbers Understanding demand is critical The investigation of offences within Hampshire Constabulary underwent the most significant change in recent years on January 14, 2015, as the Police Investigation Centres (PICs) brought together large mixed teams of investigators. The successful investigation of crime relies on managing the needs of the victim, targeting offenders and efficiently bringing them to justice through the effective use of the criminal justice system. Working to build stronger relations with those in other commands will be crucial to this. Members of CID at the new PICs all have a part to play in delivering a consistent response. Analysis is ongoing to understand the daily demands that are placed on investigators and how these demands can be better managed in order to create the time to maintain a consistent response. Matching resource to demand has never been more important. A comparison of the first two months in the life of the PICs saw an increase in the overall number of crimes owned by investigators. Month 1 (Jan to Feb) saw 1,470 crimes handled, compared with 2,077 in Month 2 (Feb to Mar). This number looks to be levelling off for Month 3 (Mar to Apr), with a predicted number of around 2,000 crimes due to be investigated. The numbers themselves don’t show the amount of consideration and effort that staff put into each and every investigation, but, moving forward, when this is broken down into crime type, it will start to give an indication of where time is being focused. Understanding exactly where and when this demand comes will allow the force to operate more effectively, so that our people work in a way that matches our resources to the workload.
Prevention and Neighbourhoods: rising to the challenge Chief Superintendent Dave Powell is confident that officers and staff under his command can achieve as a collective
What first struck me when I took over the Prevention and Neighbourhoods command was the sheer size and scope of the department. We have neighbourhood police officers, PCSOs, volunteers, Specials and offender managers dealing with some of our most dangerous and violent offenders, as well as our most prolific criminals. We have specialist safeguarding officers and teams responsible for protecting the most vulnerable in our communities, dealing with domestic and sexual abuse, honour-based violence, missing people and child sexual exploitation. If this is not enough, we also have the huge array of statutory and non-statutory partners and community groups to work and engage with. In short, Prevention and Neighbourhoods is the shop window and the face of policing in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Our communities, quite rightly, expect the highest standard of policing. Although Prevention and Neighbourhoods is an apparently diverse department, all of these functions are entirely complementary to our policing mission. For me, despite the wealth of messaging, new initiatives and apparently competing priorities, the challenge of policing is the same as it was yesterday, is today, and will be tomorrow. Our mission is to make our communities an intensely hostile place for criminals, to protect the vulnerable and provide a worldclass service to victims and witnesses. We will do this in a positive, proactive and productive partnership. The challenge is to deliver this in a landscape of fewer people and fewer resources than we have had before. I fully understand the difficulty that this presents, but I genuinely believe we can achieve this as it will force us to be creative, innovative and adopt a truly team-oriented approach across all the commands.
putting Prevention and Neighbourhoods into practice
Protect our communities through partnerships
Proactive targeting of Offenders
Making use of the latest mobile technology and apps
Focus on the community
April 1 was the first official day of new ways of working. I would prefer to see this as a transition where we hold on to the things we do very well and adapt to the new challenge ahead. As the head of Prevention and Neighbourhoods, I expect the highest
Working as one team with Safeguarding and Offender Management
Prevent crime
Keep people safe
Tools and systems to enable evidencebased, effective neighbourhood policing policing standards from everyone within the command. The challenge for me is to provide my officers and staff with the tools to do their job, giving them a platform to enjoy coming to work, ensuring they feel valued and are able to give the service I know they want to give to the community. 13
©Cr
Taking stock
General Sir Nick Carter, who became head of the British Army last year, has said that ethnic minority representation in the military is “nowhere near where it needs to be”. Frontline asked Chief Constable Andy Marsh whether he thought policing was any better and, while we were there, got his views on a range of other issues from money to mergers to leadership.
opyright 2015 own C
Chief Constable Andy Marsh talks about the biggest challenges Hampshire Constabulary faces, his plans to overcome them and his vision for the future. Head of the British Army, General Sir Nick Carter
Do Sir Nick’s comments also apply to policing? The truth is that we are even worse. While ethnic minorities make up almost 10 per cent of the Army, the figure for Hampshire Constabulary is far lower. With sizable Eastern European and Nepalese communities, and 12 per cent of the population in Portsmouth and 14 per cent in Southampton from ethnic minority groups, we have to change. What worries me is that, despite successful initiatives such as the internship programme, not enough people from these communities want to work for, or with, us. If we want to maintain our position as a leading force, we need different skills, contacts and experience. We have to do something about this and so I am taking the force lead on this key issue. Does that mean the force will use positive action to recruit and promote more black and minority ethnic (BME) candidates? Yes, and we should be proud of this. Some think it is a controversial subject, but that is because they don’t understand it properly. What we aren’t doing is stacking the cards in anyone’s favour. It is at least as tough for a BME candidate to get recruited or promoted as for anyone else – they have to clear the same bar. What we will do is take positive action so that we break down the barriers to 14
people applying and provide support networks in the build-up to applications being submitted and interview processes. Ultimately, it is still down to the individual to compete and prove themselves. If two candidates are tied in a recruitment or promotion process and there is no way to split them, we will back the ethnic minority candidate if there is one. Doesn’t that approach discriminate against the other person? No. We’d have to decide how to choose between the two people somehow. If people don’t like this approach, then I’d ask them how they’d solve the problem. If anyone opposes the idea of a more representative force then I suggest they rethink. Do you predict more cuts after the Operational Change Programme has finished? Yes. But we are in a far better place to cope because of what we have gone through in the past year. I know what some people think about OCP, but it is no exaggeration to say that without it the money would have run out. This would have led to unthinkable consequences for the force and its employees. It is important that we have now started implementing the change and there are signs of confidence in the new policing model. We are building something that is sustainable, so while there will be more cuts and more change, there will also be far more stability than we have had. Is the money really the issue or an excuse to cut jobs? As your chief, I am in policing because I believe in it and will only cut jobs as a last resort. No-one wants this and I know that behind each number on a spreadsheet is someone who is working hard to keep the public safe. Even with the cuts we have made so far, come April 2016 we are still expecting to be over the number of people we can afford. Because of good planning we have some savings that will help us to cope with this, but it doesn’t hide the fact that by April 2016 our funding will be 31 per cent less in real terms than in 2010/11. Given that 81 per cent of our budget is rightly spent on employing people, the only way to make that kind of saving has been to reduce numbers. You’ve been honest enough to admit more cuts will come. What will the impact be? I’ve been very clear to the politicians who make those decisions that we would have to stop delivering some services that the public want. We don’t know the scale of future cuts yet so there is no point speculating or my comments will probably end up in a newspaper, but that is the reality.
There’s been talk about mergers recently. Will we look at merging with Thames Valley Police? No. We’re committed to building a strong partnership but not merging. All of our partnerships are important. For example, joint working through H3 saves the partners £4m per year – money which otherwise could have to come from cutting more jobs. What are our force priorities now, in April 2015? That is a really good question and a hot topic of debate at force Executive recently as we were worried it wasn’t clear enough. In the past year or so we’ve been preoccupied with change and people have understandably been concerned about their own jobs. Now is the time to get our eye back on the ball. There are three things we are here to do: protect vulnerable people; provide a great service to victims; and relentlessly pursue the most dangerous and persistent criminals who cause misery for our communities. Our track record shows that we know how to be great at all of these and if we get our focus back the numbers will take care of themselves. What is your vision for the force? I want police officers and staff from all around the country to want to join Hampshire Constabulary because we are the best – great at catching criminals, great customer service to victims, and a great place to work. I want my staff and officers to not just feel that they make a difference, but to know that they make a difference to the people they serve. We have a reputation to be proud of and not just in cutting crime. Our work to inspire women and build confidence with our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities continues to make progress, our estate is being transformed, and some of the partnership work and technology we are developing is genuinely innovative. I want more of this but, as I said earlier, my vision cannot be fully delivered without tackling the lack of ethnic minority representation in our force. Your vision is good but far from a reality where many staff and officers are getting poorer in real terms every year. Can you offer any hope of pay rises? Whenever I can do anything about this I will but I would never offer false hope on something so serious. I do not believe that the way out of austerity is to endlessly suppress pay. That is why I spoke strongly in favour of a fair settlement for police staff and will do the same for officers. I hope that decisions such as offering the highest possible entry salary for new recruits shows that I will do what I can.
Why are we looking to bring in someone from outside of policing to be a superintendent? Why don’t you invest in the good people we have got? When we had a look at the people other forces recruited in the first year of this national scheme we were surprised by the quality. Everyone in the constabulary is a leader and we have many outstanding ones including at chief inspector level. This scheme gives us the opportunity to get just one senior leader in from a completely different background.
If two candidates are tied and there is no way to split them, we will back the ethnic minority candidate if there is one. Are you going to invest in leaders in the force, too? Yes. By now I hope our people will have heard about Space to Lead. At the early sessions I’ve attended this leadership development is the first that some very long standing officers and staff have ever had. It is much needed and very exciting. I’d encourage everyone to find out more about it. So, why should people stay with Hampshire Constabulary? Because, no matter what people say about policing, what we do matters. Public confidence in us remains high because we make a difference to thousands of people every single day. Hampshire is a fine force with an excellent reputation and I intend to keep it that way by building an environment in which people develop their full potential and make a difference. People will not agree with everything I’ve said but I hope that they will agree that this is a prize worth fighting for.
hampshire constabulary’s recruitment of bme uniformed staff in 2014/15 Police officers 20.9% PCSOs 12.9% Specials 4.5% 15
Hants investigation into Andover armed robbery featured on BBC Hampshire Constabulary was recently featured in the third series of the BBC’s Caught Red Handed for our part in the investigation into an armed robbery at an Andover jewellery store and the subsequent conviction of the two men involved. The show comprises clips of CCTV footage from forces across the country and looks at clever new methods that the police and the public are using to catch crooks red-handed. Episode 17 featured an interview with Detective Constable Ben Lee, from Basingstoke CID, who was the first officer to attend David Mellor Jewellers after the store was raided by two armed men on a motorbike on September 11, 2014. On the programme Det Con Lee talked through the
footage and described what he was with faced with initially on arrival and the techniques used to help convict the men as part of Operation Tuna. During the ordeal, shop owner David Mellor tackled one of the offenders, who was armed with a claw hammer at the time, and retrieved a bag belonging to the robbers before they made off. Mr Mellor was unhurt following his brave intervention, and the bag helped secure vital evidence that proved invaluable to the investigation.
Luke Peverall, 24 of no fixed address, and Tom White, 26, from Swallow Fields, Iver, were arrested and charged with robbery, conspiracy to rob, GBH and possession of an offensive weapon. They were both sentenced to five years in prison at Winchester Crown Court in November 2014. Katharine Duchesne, from the production company Topical TV, which films and produces the show, said: “Caught Red Handed were thrilled to highlight the excellent work by Hampshire police
officers in bringing the culprits to justice. We were impressed by the police’s hard work and professionalism. This investigation was an excellent demonstration of police and members of the public working together to keep the community safe.” If any of our officers and staff are aware of completed cases that highlight the excellent work the constabulary achieves, please contact Corporate Communications to see if they are suitable to be considered for the series.
Team commended for investigation into complex child abuse case Assistant Chief Constable Sara Glen (right) shares her appreciation with the team that worked on Op Zibeline
The officers and staff who worked on Operation Zibeline were commended for their outstanding professionalism and dedication to duty during a highly complex and emotionally challenging investigation. In late 2010 the force received information from Australia about what turned out to be a global paedophile ring centred in Portsmouth. Led by the Paedophile and Online Investigation team (now the Internet Child Abuse Team), it became one of the largest operations of its type the force had dealt with. Senior Investigating Officer Victoria Dennis said: “Our priority was identifying and safeguarding children at risk and that involved a thorough 16
and detailed analysis of thousands of images, videos and chat logs. “For weeks the team worked in excess of 14 hours a day to ensure that no child was left at risk and that our suspects were swiftly brought into custody. “We worked closely with the law enforcement agencies in Australia as well as local safeguarding partners and colleagues in the Crown Prosecution Service. “It was at times a challenging and difficult
The team that investigated an international child abuse case focused in Portsmouth has received a Chief Officers Award.
investigation not just because of the material we were dealing with but also in building and securing the case against each defendant from the vast amount of evidence.” The team seized and forensically examined 45 phones, 113 computers and laptops and storage devices as well as hundreds of DVDs and CDs. The investigation uncovered more than 14,000 indecent images of children and 300 videos and films of children being abused.
For weeks the team worked in excess of 14 hours a day to ensure that no child was left at risk…
Eight people were convicted of 107 offences between them including sexual offences against children, child cruelty and neglect and the possession and distribution of indecent images of children. In addition, other suspects were identified abroad and the POLIT disseminated intelligence to nine other countries, and work to identify further offenders and protect children linked to Operation Zibeline has continued. ACC Glen said: “My congratulations and thanks go to everyone involved in Operation Zibeline, which resulted in eight successful convictions and the protection from future harm of countless children worldwide.”
Online sellers made £350,000 from stolen goods An investigation by the Economic Crime Unit has helped jail a couple who sold hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of stolen goods online. When we raided the Portsmouth home of Dariusz Suski and Joanna Lazarska our officers found what they described as an “Aladdin’s cave” of beauty products. The pair bought the cosmetic items from people they met through eBay and sold them on as discounted factory goods. They made around £350,000 and the judge described them as “obsessed”. Acting Detective Sergeant Anton Gaita said: “In interview they denied knowing the products were stolen, but our investigation proved otherwise. We maintain the
items were stolen to order and both were found guilty of conspiring to handle stolen goods.” He added that handling and selling stolen goods is not a victimless crime: “Sometimes such criminal activity can have links to other areas of organised crime such as drugs and money laundering. We’re committed to making life difficult for these groups.” In January, Suski, 32, was jailed for four years and Lazarska, 33, for two years. Four other defendants were also convicted. A confiscation hearing will be held later this year. Cosmetics found in Dariusz Suski and Joanna Lazarska’s Southsea home
Policing in austerity top of the agenda at COMPASS meeting
by Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Hayes
My Commissioner’s Performance, Accountability, Scrutiny and Strategy (COMPASS) meeting, which I chaired alongside the chief constable, was held in February. The event highlighted how passionately people feel about their local policing. The theme of the meeting – Maintaining neighbourhood policing in times of austerity – provoked lively questioning from the members of the public participating in the Q&A session. Topics of discussion included the role of PCSOs, crime recording, restorative justice and support for local Neighbourhood Watch groups. Maria Miller MP was present and her questions gave the opportunity to describe the changing face of traditional crime and the massive rise of online fraud. There was strong representation from the rural community in north Hampshire, who sought reassurance that police and PCSOs would remain visible in their local communities. They questioned what would be considered successful criteria for measuring the effectiveness of rural policing. The meeting also gave Mr Marsh and me the opportunity to demonstrate to the public how Hampshire Constabulary has responded to the loss of £80m in central government-imposed cuts. We were able to explain how, in light of the cuts, the force has had to reconfigure how it
delivers its services in cost-effective ways while ensuring that policing is kept at the heart of local communities, as outlined in my Police and Crime Plan. At the time of drafting the plan, nobody could have envisaged the scale of the cuts or the challenge that maintaining high-quality policing in times of austerity poses. I know from my own engagement with the public in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight that the majority of people (around 80 per cent) are prepared to invest more in policing. In January, over 70 per cent of people asked in two separate surveys agreed to a 1.99 per cent increase in the policing element of the council tax precept. Interestingly, at the COMPASS meeting, the question was raised whether it would be possible to increase the precept beyond 1.99 per cent. Because raising the precept above this amount would require a referendum, which in turn would cost the public up to £1m, I decided not to go to raise it on this occasion. However, I have been clear that any further cuts of a similar scale would have a highly detrimental impact on the constabulary’s ability to deliver a high-quality service from the heart of the local community. Video footage of the COMPASS meeting is available on my website at www.hampshire-pcc.gov.uk I hope you are able to join me at the next COMPASS meeting, on May 13 at Highbury College, Portsmouth. The theme will be Young people, crime and the police. 17
Final credits roll as Media Production head retires He was regarded as the “reel deal” by his colleagues in Corporate Communications and many others throughout the force. But after 40 years’ service, head of Media Production Alan Hillary, has hung up his tripod. On March 25, hundreds of officers and staff crammed into Netley canteen to hear Chief Constable Andy Marsh laud his fellow Liverpool FC devotee, who joined the force as PC 12022 Hillary on December 31, 1974. The chief paid tribute to Alan’s commitment and also presented him with a little light reading to remember him by – 44 Years with the Same Bird – a fan’s story about following the red side of Merseyside. And, in a gesture that brought Alan close to tears, the chief honoured him by unveiling a special commemorative plaque above the door of his former workplace to mark four decades of dedicated service. Golf aficionado Alan, who has represented the force with a club in his hand on many occasions
throughout his tenure, became a detective constable in the late 1980s. It was during this era that he moved into the movie world and joined the force’s audio visual team. In December 2004 he cemented that role, becoming a member of police staff and taking over at the top of the then Technical Services Unit. Speaking on his final day with the force about the naming of the Netley television studio, Alan told his colleagues: “Blimey! What a surprise! Thanks to everyone for your kind gifts and messages, but most of all for the friendship. I’m feeling very humble at the moment and the naming of the studio did make my eyes water. My mum and dad will be proud when I tell them. I wish you all the best for the future.”
Police Dog Jet retires from a life of fighting crime by Lucy Dibdin
After eight fantastic years of service protecting the communities of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Police Dog Jet has retired from the force. Jet has been partners-in-crime-fighting with his handler, PC Gerard Harrison, for the duration of his service, having joined the Dog Section as a pup in 2007. Jet is multi-skilled and trained as a general purpose dog, meaning he was adept at policing large scale events, public order and football matches; as a Tactical Firearms Support Dog; and as a victim recovery dog. During his distinguished career he has also been deployed to Wales to help in the search for missing 5-year-old April Jones; to the site of the fatal Red Arrows air crash at Bournemouth; and worked at the scene of the recent murder in the New Forest of Pennie Davis. As well as being a highly prized police resource, Jet is also a real character. “He’s very strong willed – he loves the criminal work but hates the dull part of being a police dog,” PC Harrison said in tribute to his canine companion. “What sets him apart is his ability to work around people – he knows instinctively who is friend and who is foe. “He is by far the most multi-skilled working dog we have had for some time with his particular skill set. People have commented recently that he’s still too good to retire, but 18
it’s only right after eight years of hard work he is allowed time to ‘put his feet up’ and enjoy a great quality of life now that work is done.” Speaking about him, it’s clear that the bond between dog and handler is a massively strong one and that PC Harrison is going to miss his work buddy. “I will miss his bullheadedness. He’s not been an easy dog, he’s been a challenge to handle but he responds well to me and that’s very rewarding. He’s not let go of a single ball in all the time I’ve had him – when he gets a ball, it’s his and no-one else is having it!” With Jet being a sizeable German shepherd and Gerard an imposing 6ft 8in tall, no-one tends to argue with them, and that has been one of the duo’s greatest assets. “Jet has never given a nasty bite. He’s never had to. Very few criminals ever put up resistance, they usually just give up!” Jet will soon be off to a new home in the country to live out a lovely retirement. He will be very much missed by us here in the force, and deserves a bouquet of Bonios for everything he has done to keep our streets safe over the course of his career. Have a lovely long retirement, Jet. You’ve earned it.
PC Gerard Harrison says he’ll miss his bullheaded buddy
Celebrating award winners at Mayor’s reception An awards event to recognise the great work of policing teams and the public in Southampton was held in the Mayor’s Reception Rooms in the Civic Centre. Awards were given to a number of Special constables for offering a great commitment to policing in the city as well as delivering an excellent service. Other commendations presented were to members of the public for acts of great bravery and public spirited actions. One incident involved tackling a violent offender during a robbery at a local Co-op store, resulting in a successful arrest of an offender who was wanted for five other similar offences. Another case involved an officer chasing
a suspect in a high-value robbery at a jewellery store, an act which helped secure vital forensic evidence leading to the successful sentence of a criminal who had been involved in at least eight other thefts across the south totalling approximately £164,000. Other officers received awards for their great leadership skills while acting up in temporary positions, and several police team members were congratulated for their fantastic community work across the city of Southampton.
Band concerts planned The Band of the Hampshire Constabulary has released dates of forthcoming concerts for 2015. ¾¾ April 25 - Concert in aid of the National Autistic Society, 7pm, St Paul’s Church, Bursledon. Tickets £8 (under 12s £2) available from Hound Parish Council offices (023 8045 3732) or on the door ¾¾ May 17 - Joint Concert with the Milton Glee Club Choir, 3pm, Portsmouth Guildhall ¾¾ June 6 - Families Day, Netley ¾¾ June 20 - Hampshire Constabulary Choir 75th Anniversary Concert, 3pm, Ferneham Hall, Fareham ¾¾ July 29 - Concert as part of Swanage Carnival, Prince Albert Gardens, Swanage - TBC ¾¾ October 10 - Swanage Haven for Heroes, Swanage - TBC ¾¾ November 7 - Concert for Basingstoke Lions, 7.30pm, Basingstoke ¾¾ December 6 - Hampshire Constabulary Christmas Concert, 7.30pm, Aldershot Garrison Church For further details visit www.hampshirepoliceband.co.uk
Superintendent James Fulton (front left) and Southampton Mayor Sue Blatchford (front right) pictured with the worthy award winners
Former Gosport PC given highest honour for bravery Regular readers of Frontline will remember the story of former Hants officer, Bob Hope, who appeared in issue 184 (June 2014) after helping to save the life of a woman who found herself submerged in a freezing Calgary river, clinging to an ice shelf for survival. Well, we’re pleased to inform you that former Gosport officer Bob has since been given Calgary Fire Department’s highest honour – the Medal of Bravery. As reported last year, Bob and fellow Transit Peace Officer, Darcy Hare, had been driving over the Langevin Bridge when they spotted a man trying to rescue a woman. In –13C conditions the pair clambered over snow-covered boulders to reach the stricken woman, who was up to her neck in water when the man tired. The pair took over and pulled her from the river. Bob, a one-time bodybuilding Mr Southampton, moved to Canada in 2006 after serving as a Hampshire PC for 20 years. He and Darcy were both honoured at the awards ceremony, during which Carole Henke, public information officer, said: “The two men were able to safely pull the woman out of the ice waters away from the crumbling surface and to safety just as emergency responders arrived. “Thanks to the brave life-saving efforts of these men, the woman was able to be turned over to emergency medical services.”
A proud Bob Hope shows off his award, and [inset] the Medal of Bravery close up
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THE best of hampshire CONSTABULARY ON SOCIAL MEDIA We’ve taken a look at the world of social media to bring you up to speed with the news and views from those connected to Hampshire Constabulary. Here’s a selection of recent posts and interactions that caught our eye.
Theresa Thom as Hampshire Co A big thankyo nstabulary u and Happy Easter to this for helping sa guy and his ac ve a handful of quaintance baby duckling today s stuck down a drain 5 April Hampshire Co
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©Daily Echo
Passing out ceremony for proud cadets
A cadet unit from the Isle of Wight
SOPHIE HARCOURT-BROWN 16, Chandler’s Ford
Unit: Southampton We are able to interact with the community, build trust with them and understand the problems they face. I like wearing the uniform and presenting myself well. It builds your confidence.
JAMES WEEKS 16, Gosport
Unit: Gosport I want to be a policeman when I am older so learning things here will help me with my future career. I’ve met a lot of friends in the group and spoken to a lot of people.
tom hillier 13, Gosport
Unit: Gosport It makes me feel part of the community and you get to talk to people from the police force. I’ve learned a lot from notebook training and it’s really good to tell employers when you go for an interview.
PCC Simon Hayes congratulates one of our young volunteers
A packed house at Southampton Guildhall
Southampton Guildhall played host to 150 school children and students who celebrated passing their 10-week induction to become part of the force’s Volunteer Police Cadets (VPCs). The new recruits were presented with a certificate each acknowledging their achievement by the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire Nigel Atkinson, Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Hayes and Assistant Chief Constable David Pryde. Also in attendance were Councillor Steven Wylie, Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, and Isle of Wight Assistant PCC Laura Franklin. Force cadet leader, PC Steve Swift, said: “Seven new cadet units were established last year in Hampshire, and the cadets travelled to the event from as far as the Isle of Wight and Aldershot.” The VPC scheme offers young people a unique opportunity to volunteer with the force, and in the last eight months cadets have given up more than 1,800 hours of their time to assist with local policing and community initiatives.
The success of the scheme has been due largely to the hard work of Hampshire Constabulary officers and staff as well as over 70 volunteers from the community. Funding for the scheme comes from grants, donations, sponsorship and fundraising. This allows the cadets to participate in weekly meetings, their annual summer camp and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award without costing them anything. Force lead on VPC, Superintendent Gavin McMillan, said: “The benefits of the cadets to the community are already being realised and this will grow as they start working alongside their police colleagues to help prevent crime and anti-social behaviour in local neighbourhoods.” @HantsPolCadets VPC
White-water thrills down the Zambezi
Trip of a lifetime makes a splash for charity A police staff investigator from Southampton has completed the Zambezi Rafting Challenge, raising £4,300 in the process. Colette Baker travelled to Zambia to take on what many enthusiasts consider to be one of the biggest white-water rivers in the world. Raising money for the Institute of Cancer Research, Colette enjoyed plenty of thrills and spills along the way. One incident saw the raft completely flip over and, while underwater, Colette was sucked into a whirlpool some 10 metres deep – bursting her ear drum on the way down – before being spat out away from the raft in crocodile-infested waters! Participants slept on the river bank every night, cooked on a camp fire and, if that wasn’t enough, daredevil Colette also did a bungee jump off of Victoria Falls.
Colette in
triumphan
t mood
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THE EXTENDED POLICE FAMILY
The Extended Police Family team, from L-R are Angela Johnson, Tim Lucas, Belinda Kinsley, Darren Guy, Wendy Black and Clive Marsh
I am delighted to have taken on the role as Extended Police Family inspector. I have a great team to support me and the wider constabulary in helping to provide clear direction and support for the Special Constabulary and the growing number of police service volunteers we have working with us. My EPF co-
A word from the new EPF inspector, Clive Marsh…
ordinators cover all areas of the force and have a wealth of knowledge to share with staff and support local command teams in making best use of these resources. The central EPF team, based at Netley, is on hand to answer any queries you may have so please don’t hesitate to contact us or pop in for a cup of tea and a chat.
Supported work placement success strikes again! Did you know that through referral the constabulary invites anyone with a disability or learning difficulty to join our Supported Work Placement (SWP) scheme to gain work experience? With support from the organisation referring them, the Extended Police Family (EPF) liaises with departments suitable to their needs and places them on a three-month SWP. The support is provided by the referral agency, the EPF co-ordinator and supervisors in the department they have joined. In September 2014, the EPF welcomed Ellie Mohammadi-Kangarani on a SWP with Mandy Hodson, IQA assessor. Ellie took up the role of volunteer internal quality assurer assistant.
Cake was the order of the day as Chief Constable Andy Marsh joined the team behind the Cops “n” Coffee initiative
Double celebration for Cops “n” Coffee The Cops “n” Coffee shop at Greywell shopping centre in Leigh Park has had two reasons to celebrate recently. Not only has the successful project been running for a year but the five volunteers who help to keep the coffee brewing have been named the Hampshire Constabulary Volunteer Team of the Year. The award was presented to the team by Chief Constable Andy Marsh at a birthday celebration held at the shop. Mr Marsh said: “What is so wonderful about this is it brings the community, that we’re here to serve, and the police together with lots of other agencies. We work together to solve lots of problems. “We’ve got volunteers here that signpost people to other areas if 22
they need it – domestic abuse help, anti-social behaviour, Community SpeedWatch. “It’s also got the support of the local council, which I’m really pleased about.” Sergeant Garry Smith, who is behind the project, said: “People can come and meet their local officers, they can tell us what their concerns are, what the problems are in their area and what they think our priorities should be. “We also give crime prevention advice and have a chat about issues and concerns in their neighbourhood. “Our volunteers are absolutely invaluable to us. We couldn’t do it without them. They come out and help whatever the weather and are a huge support to us.”
Mandy Hodson and Ellie Mohammadi-Kangarani
Wendy Black, volunteer co-ordinator for the force, said: “Watching Ellie’s confidence grow and her skills develop has been a pleasure. A Supported Work Placement has been the ideal starting point for Ellie to get back into the workplace.” Ellie said: “I have really enjoyed my three months’ work experience with Mandy. I have learned so much. My confidence has grown, which other people have noticed.” Ellie has now become a volunteer with the Extended Police Family and is hoping eventually to find fulltime employment within Hampshire Constabulary. The EPF would like to say a huge thank you to Mandy for welcoming Ellie and offering her this fantastic opportunity.
Up to the challenge of Sign2Sing
Officers and staff signing as part of their performance of Joining Hands Today
When the force was challenged to be the first to take part in a national signing and singing campaign, our Police Link Officers for Deaf People (PLOD) team got straight on it. The result: sixteen officers and staff are now the stars of a signed video for a new song called Joining Hands Today. It’s part of Sign2Sing, a national event run by the deaf charity SignHealth. Sergeant Glen Barham oversees our PLOD service. He said it was a challenge we couldn’t turn down: “SignHealth asked both us and Leicestershire Police to take part because we both have PLOD. “It was a race then between us and
Did you spot it? One of the bikes being used as part of the scheme
Bright bikes to prevent thefts Portsmouth Central Neighbourhood Policing Team is “pedalling” a bright new approach to tackling cycle theft in the city. The team have painted a selection of old bikes in eye-catching colours and left them locked up around Portsmouth,
them to be the first police force to bring together a group of people to sign to a song, film it and upload the video to YouTube.” PC Helen Haines, from Ringwood, got the group together at Netley. They were joined by international deaf signing performer, Fletch, who helped them record several versions of the signed song. Many of those taking part had signed before, but for two Portsmouth-based particularly in areas where there are increased reports of bike thefts. The spray-painted bikes, which have previously been lost or stolen and never recovered by their owners, each have a warning sign attached which remind bikers to secure their cycles. “Spokes” person Sergeant Rob Sutton said: “The intention is to raise awareness of cycle theft problems and to encourage people to secure their property better, ideally with D-locks. “We are supplementing the ‘painted cycles project’ with leaflets and security marking events, as well as selling D-locks from Portsmouth Central police station, Gunwharf Quays and the Student Union Shop.” The project has been backed up with social media activity via @PompeyPolice. It was through Twitter that police in Norwich and Poole spotted the novel idea and are now subsequently using painted cycles to tackle bike crime in their neighbourhoods.
PCSOs – Emma Gill and Karen Rolfe – it was a whole new experience. Karen said: “I meet more and more people who are deaf and each time realise how important it is to be able to communicate accurately. I do have concerns that not enough of us in the police are able to sign.” You can watch the video and find out more about Sign2Sing on the Hampshire Constabulary YouTube page.
Have you had an accident at work? Are you aware that accidents, near misses, assaults and ill health connected with the force’s work must be reported on the Accident Management System (AMS), as the constabulary is legally bound to record such incidents? In addition, it’s also the responsibility of line managers to undertake the initial investigation following incidents of this nature and to record their findings on the AMS. To access the Accident Management System, click on the “Reporting Accidents At Work” link, which can be found in the Useful Tools section to the left of the intranet homepage. For more information, search “accident” on the intranet. Alternatively, email corporate health and safety advisor Dave Leverett. 23
Prize crossword
Print the crossword by visiting www.hampshire.police.uk/frontline
The people, stories and events that should be on your radar this month
WIN!
A £20 M&S gift card
With no shareholders, Police Mutual is run for the benefit of its members and the police service, which means it can focus on delivering the things that are most important to you. Whether you’re looking for a savings or investment product with a built-in guarantee, value for money insurance, tailored healthcare or advice on finding a mortgage, Police Mutual is here to help. Find out more at www.policemutual.co.uk. Thanks to Police Mutual, Frontline is offering the sender of the first all-correct crossword entry to be drawn from the hat a £20 Marks & Spencer gift card. The winner of puzzle no. 186 is Linda Russell.
No. 187 1
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ACROSS
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6. The first month of the year (7) 7. Canoe-like boat used by Eskimos (5) 9. Menachem, prime minister of Israel 1977-83 (5) 10. See 12. 12, and 10. 1973 novel by Robert Ludlum (3,8,7) 14. Seaport in Tamil Nadu, India, on the Coromandel coast (11) 18. Musical instruction indicating a walking pace (7) 19. Liliaceous plant of the genus Tulipa (5) 21. Edward, British prime minister 1970-74 (5) 22. ‘The --- Memorandum’, novel by Adam Hall (7)
1. European principality whose capital is Cardiff (5) 2. German city on the River Isar (6) 3. C.B., England cricket captain once offered the throne of Albania (3) 4. John, 1976 Olympic 1500m winner (6) 5. 1988 film which won a Best Picture Oscar (4,3) 8. E.C., English journalist who invented the clerihew (7) 11. Rapid keyboard composition (7) 13. Breed of smooth-coated dog used on shooting expeditions (7) 15. José, president of El Salvador 1984-88 (6) 16. Standard unit of currency of Russia (6) 17. Large feline mammal, Panthera tigris (5) 20. Small breed of dog with a wrinkled nose (3)
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SOLUTIONS TO 186 Across: 1 Hammerlock; 7 Rigel; 8 Sikhism; 10 The Lover; 11 Salt; 13 Pajama; 15 Malone; 17 Aoki; 18 Savannah; 21 Martini; 22 Roger; 23 Gary Cooper. Down: 1 Hague; 2 Mel Torme; 3 Eisler; 4 Lake; 5 Chicago; 6 Protoplasm; 9 Matterhorn; 12 Malaprop; 14 Jakarta; 16 Calico; 19 Niger; 20 City.
Send entries to: Tea Break, Frontline, Corporate Communications, Hampshire Constabulary Police HQ, Romsey Road, Winchester, Hampshire, SO22 5DB. Closing date May 15, 2015. Prize crossword draws are open to all serving and former Hampshire Constabulary employees. Entrants may only enter the draws in their own name.
from
Celebrity lookalike THE JOKE’S ON YOU! Sent in by Communications Officer Alissia Knight, OPCC
What’s the difference between a piano and a fish?
©Filmstarts.de
Everybody loves a lookalike. Are you the spitting image of Holly Willoughby? Do your colleagues say you’re a real dead ringer for, er, Meat Loaf? If so, don’t be shy – email a head-and-shoulders shot to the Frontline mailbox.
PCSO MARK HUMBLE
Sl e
ut
h
Bitterne NPT
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SIMON BIRD Actor
©Wikipedia
You can’t tuna fish!
Share your favourite joke with us. Email your most revered rib-tickler and a head-and-shoulders shot to the Frontline mailbox.
In his pocket Hans Constabulary has £5.95. It is made up of four different denominations of coins and the largest denomination is 50p. There is exactly the same number of each coin. How many of each coin are there and what are their values? Answers on page 24.
by Clifford Williams
new force, new recruits The photo below shows participants on a course for female officers at Police Headquarters, July 1967. Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton forces had amalgamated to form Hampshire Constabulary on April 1, 1967. This course was therefore one of the first to take place under the organisation’s new identity. Thanks to Gill Richards for lending us this photo. We are trying to identify all of those pictured. The suggestions we have so far are listed below.
Back row: Third from left, Pat Chalk; centre, Maggie Stewart; second from right, Elsie Troman; far right, “Gin” Jean Elliott; Gillian Burford-Marsh is also thought to appear in the back row, but position unknown. Middle row: Fifth from left, Val Bryant; second from right; Di Berkeley. Front row: Second from left, Sue Wills; then (l-r) Sergeant Ken Rogers, Inspector Martin Sykes, Chief Inspector Ron West, Inspector Jim O’Reilly, Sergeant Jim Reed, W/Sergeant Celia Kersley, Gill Edwards (Richards).
Extracts from Southampton Police General Orders Feb 16th 1965. The Chief Constable endorsed the commendation of the Juvenile Court bench to PC 206 Campion for his initiative and attention to duty in connection with a juvenile who was seen leaving a secondhand shop after having sold a lady’s watch. As a result of extensive enquiries, four juveniles were charged with six joint charges and thirty other offences were taken into consideration. March 9th 1965. The Watch Committee approved the application of Woman Constable Gladys Hobbs for an extension of service beyond the normal compulsory age of retirement. Police Band. The Chief Constable has given permission for the Police Band to play at the passing-out parade at no7 District Training Centre, Chantmarle (Dorset) on Friday 23rd April.
Policeman, soldier, husband Many organisations have been commemorating the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. This includes Imperial War Museums, and visitors to the museum’s website are invited to submit details of people known to them who served during the Great War. Look for the Lives of the First World War section (livesofthefirstworldwar.org). I have added information on PC 166 William McPherson, who was the second PC 166 William McPherson Hampshire police officer to be killed in the war. PC McPherson joined the force on October 27, 1906, and was initially posted to Boscombe. At the time he joined HM Forces, on August 5, 1914, he was based at Hurn, near Bournemouth, which at that time was part of Hampshire. He served in the Scots Guards and was reported missing on October 26, 1914. His body was never recovered and his wife was awarded a pension the following year. On January 5, 1916, his death was officially recorded as “wounded and missingnow dead”. His name is inscribed on the memorial at Zantvoorde British Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium.
Extracts from Hampshire Constabulary General Orders GO 2/1915 of 24th Feb 1915: It is with great regret at their sad loss and with much sympathy with their relatives, that the Chief Constable notifies the death of PC 146 H (Harry) Goodman and PC 263 T (Thomas) Todd, who have nobly lost their lives fighting for all their countrymen hold most dear, and for the very existence of the Nation of which we are all proud to belong.
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Choir to celebrate 75 years with concert in Fareham by Brian Wareham
The Hampshire Police Male Voice Choir is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and to mark the occasion the choir will be performing a special concert at Ferneham Hall, Fareham, on June 20. Also appearing will be the Band of the Hampshire Constabulary and some guest singers.
A completely crackers story from issue 17 of Frontline...
In 1940, when Portsmouth was subject to constant air attack, police officers, War Reserve Police and Special Constabulary officers carried out not only their conventional duties but also civil defence responsibilities. While on many hours of standby duties, they started to sing together, establishing a precedent that led to the formation of the Portsmouth City Police Choir. The ensemble performed concerts to raise morale among the city’s population, as well as raising funds for the Lord Mayor’s Appeals. The choir soon became well known, its popularity leading to invitations to broadcast on the BBC’s domestic and overseas programmes. It is somewhat amazing that the choir survived those early days. Two months after being formed and just minutes after finishing rehearsal at the Hippodrome, a 1000lb bomb exploded in nearby Conway Street. Fortunately, fatalities were few, but a month later the choir did suffer one casualty when its piano was destroyed by a direct hit!
Although all the founding members of the choir have now sadly died, former member Richard (Dick) Merryweather is still alive and will be attending the anniversary concert. Dick is pictured in the photo of the choir shown here – he is in the centre of the middle row – taken in 1950. There are four former members of the Portsmouth City Police Choir still singing in the force choir today. They are Roger Reynolds, Bryan Scarth, Tony Thompson and me, who between us have been in the choir for more than 200 years! As part of the “Extended Police Family”, the choir not only entertains the community but promotes the force’s community safety messages. It also continues to raise funds for local causes. The choir is proud to donate profits from the forthcoming concert to The Blue Lamp Trust and the Crimestoppers Trust. Tickets, priced £14, can be obtained from the Ferneham Hall box office on 01329 231942 or www.fernehamhall.co.uk.
We regret to announce the deaths of the following retired police officers The force’s microfiche records are currently being scanned to complete our transition to an e-filing system. As a result, we apologise that some obituary details are missing from the entries below.
PC Alan Ronald John Reading died on January 15, 2015. He served with Hampshire Constabulary for seven years before retiring on February 27, 1985. Superintendent George Arthur James Mansell died on January 14, 2015. He served with Hampshire Constabulary for 33 years before retiring on June 30, 1970. He served at Southampton and Portswood. Detective Sergeant Raymond James Weston died on January 4, 2015. He served with Hampshire Constabulary
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for 16 years before retiring on September 7, 1991. Chief Superintendent Leonard Soper died on December 11, 2014. Detective Constable Ted Gale died on December 7, 2014. He served with Hampshire Constabulary for 25 years before retiring in May 1977. Detective Constable Dick McCullagh died on December 3. He served with Hampshire Constabulary for 23 years before retiring in April 2004. He served at Portswood, CID Fratton and CID Southampton Central.
netball BLUES
July 17
(Frida
y and
& 18
Saturd
ay)
Summer music garden party returns in 2015! The Netley Music Festival – or Fuzz Fest as the event has become known – is back again in 2015 for the fourth year running. What was planned to be a one-off gathering has flourished into an established annual big bash. Fuzz Fest has grown somewhat since the first event in 2011 and this year will be a two-night event, again with 15 live acts lined up to entertain our serving and retired officers and staff, colleagues, family and friends. Held in the lovely enclosed gardens behind Victoria House at Netley’s Southern Support and Training HQ, it provides the perfect setting for a festival of all kinds of music to suit everybody’s taste. This is a private, ticket-only event with numbers controlled to ensure that those coming can have a relaxed, enjoyable day in a garden party-type atmosphere. This year there will be an acoustic Friday evening with aftershow party in the bar. The main stage show will start around 2pm on Saturday and will run through to 11pm. The bar will be open throughout with food available, and children’s entertainment, including big bouncy castles, will again help keep the younger ones busy. This is also a camping event with pitches available both at the rear of Victoria House or alternatively in the quieter front-of-house area. You can,
of course, just come for either or both nights without camping. This can be a full weekend break away or just a relaxed Saturday picnic in the park! This year we have many new acts scheduled to play, but also some festival favourites will be coming back including Remedy Sounds, the Sarah Harrison Band and the excellent Recreation Band. The headline act, Tequila King, will finish off with their unique take on a host of popular songs that you will know and love. This year’s event is sponsored by your Leisure and Sports Club and also the Southampton Police Club Trust Fund. This is a non-profit making event with ticket prices set as low as possible to just cover the event and security costs. All the acts are giving their time for free to support the festival. Tickets can be purchased by any serving or retired constabulary staff as well as personnel from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, Hampshirebased ambulance staff plus our joint working colleagues. More information and a link to buy tickets can be found on the HPLS website: www.hpls.org
“Hampshire Blues” is the name of the newly formed first team representing the constabulary at netball in Police Sport UK events. Many of the old team reunited for the opening match of the season against Sussex. The first quarter saw Sussex starting strongly and quickly going 4-0 ahead. However Hampshire fought back solidly to end the first quarter 6-6. The second quarter involved some excellent play and despite some outstanding defensive play from Vikki Warnes (GD) and Roz Brown (GK), Sussex edged ahead to lead 20-13 at half time. During the third quarter, Hampshire lost their way slightly, some mis-communication and minor mistakes, coupled with some excellent play from Sussex, resulted in our neighbouring force stretching their lead to 33-21 going into the fourth. Then some strong coaching advice from Andi Douglas led to a hotly contested final 15 minutes in which Hampshire played exceptionally well with the shooting duo of Kelly Bartle (GS) and Jodie Lawford (GA) proving a great combination. This coupled with some fast, clever play by our mid-court generals of Ange Lee (WA) and Liz Pirie (C) winning turnovers and some exceptional interceptions from Lynsey Hayward (WD) meant that Hampshire won the final quarter, having eaten into the lead considerably. In the end, Sussex were victorious winning 40-32 in a very tightly fought match. Well done to all the Hampshire Blues ladies. Thanks were given by Sussex for such a high standard and pleasant game, awarding their player of the match to Liz Pirie. This puts Hampshire into the Plate draw of the PSUK tournament. For a line-up that have not played together as a team for several years the first outing proved successful and stands us in good stead for the next match which Hampshire Blues will need to win to continue through the remaining knock-out stages.
WinNER! The winner of the Kindle e-reader featured in issue 186 is is Helen Galloway, ACRO. Visit the Hampshire Police Leisure and Sport website – www.hpls.org – to be in with a chance of winning some more great goodies. 27
©www.ttphotographic.co.uk
Valiant cup effort by Hampshire is no match for superior Sussex Hampshire
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Sussex
Inspector Paul Maginnis reports on what was an emotional last match for him with Hampshire Constabulary before he transferred to the Met. On a freezing cold Wednesday night, Hampshire and Sussex took to the field at Basingstoke RFC in the area final of this year’s Police Sport National Cup. Confidence was high within our squad (pictured below) following victories against British Transport Police and Kent in previous rounds. With an almost full-strength side at our disposal and a playing surface in top condition, we were confident of success – the prize being a trip to play Police Scotland in the national semi-final. The game started at a ferocious pace with both sides showing their commitment and desire to win with some tough tackling. Despite our early endeavour, we soon found ourselves two tries down after a very well
organised Sussex side made their mark. Showing true character, we never let the scoreline get to us and instead began to play our own game. Ian Earles got the backs involved with the centre pairing of Sam Foster and Chris Smith starting to open up the Sussex back line. Up front, our forwards continued to make ground with fast, aggressive play, with Jim Hyman and Dan Ross epitomising this attacking spirit. For all our valiant effort, Sussex were rarely troubled defensively and held out in a very competitive and entertaining game of rugby to take the game 24-7. The force rugby side is always seeking new players. If you’re interested please contact PC Steve Rogerson or PC Daniel Ross.
Win-win situation for force footballers Hampshire Constabulary FC secured a brace of victories in quick succession to get 2015 off to a flyer. Thames Valley Police were the visitors to Netley’s Southern Support and Training HQ on January 15 in a Police Sport UK national cup fixture. Goals from Mitch While, Simon Briggs and Alex Marulli De Barletta ensured Hants ran out 3-2 winners. Six days later, Hants welcomed Kent Police to Netley. Despite going 2-0 down, the home side showed fighting spirit to turn the game on its head and secure a 4-2 win in the Magnum Shield. The goals came from Mitch While, Alex Marulli De Barletta (2) and Kevin Burnand. As Frontline went to print, Hampshire had just suffered a 1-0 defeat in extra time away to Merseyside Police in the Magnum Shield.
28 Sleuth answer: Seven of each of 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p.