Deputy Chief Constable hosts virtual award ceremonies

On Friday 26 March, Deputy Chief Constable Jim Nye hosted two virtual awards ceremonies to celebrate officers and staff long service and other awards.

Both events were small with five recipients in the morning and four in the afternoon and they were joined by colleagues and representatives from across the force.

The citations for the morning ceremony were read by D/Supt Edward Wright and for the afternoon ceremony by D/Supt Ry Linden read the citations.

Some of those to be recognised are listed below.

Long Service – 26 March 2021

Police Staff - Richard Kingdon

Richard joined Devon and Cornwall Police on 8 January 2001 as a Contract/Client Services Officer in the Procurement Department at Headquarters. 

In Spring 2012, Richard moved into the role of Facilities Officer for Devon, a post which he still holds today.

Richard undertakes his role with great professionalism and commitment.  He has gained a great deal of knowledge of the organisation over the years.  Richard is friendly, has a very helpful character and he can be relied upon and puts 100% into any task that is asked of him.  He is, without doubt, an invaluable asset to the Buildings and Estate Department and the organisation as a whole. 

Richard is proud to have worked for Devon and Cornwall Police for 20 years, some of which have proved to be the most challenging but enjoyable years of his life.  The time has flown by!!  During this time Richard feels that he has been privileged to work with many lovely people and made many friends.

As a career choice, joining Devon and Cornwall Police was the best decision he ever made.

Chief Constable’s Commendation – 26 March 2021

Sergeant Olly Tayler

On 30 June 2019, Olly was working a late shift when he became aware of a report in Ivybridge concerning members of the public having seen a male jump over a wall and on to the railway tracks. Local units were dispatched to the scene and Olly made his way to the viaduct, following the river below on foot.

A short time later he saw two people in the river holding on to something. It quickly became apparent they were holding onto the body of a male. Olly ran towards them and shouted at them to hold on and he would help. The two people at this stage were struggling to hold on to the male and prevent him being swept further downstream.

At this point, Oliver was joined by two colleagues. The two people in the river lost their grip on the male, and he was swept further downstream into deeper water.

Oliver and a colleague entered the river, to take hold of the male and bring him to the water's edge. The male had no obvious signs of life and had obvious external injuries. Oliver and his colleague began to administer cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at the river’s edge.

Paramedics arrived a short time later and requested officers continued CPR whilst they carried out advanced lifesaving treatment.

All officers above went above and beyond their duty to try and save the life of the male who despite their best efforts, died.

Chief Constable’s Leadership Award – 26 March 2021

Police Staff - Rich Weaver

For a long time, Rich has consistently managed the largest number of staff of any supervisor across both sites and disciplines within the call management communications unit or control room (CMCU). He does so without complaint, consistently leading his team to high performance across a wide variety of performance measures.

It’s his resilience as well as his skills as a leader that are admired. Rich leads by example and demonstrates the leadership behaviours, consistently investing in his staff both inside and outside of work, to build a strong team, the members of which work hard and support each other, and consistently deliver results.

On many occasions, Rich has been the sole supervisor on duty and remaining at work when other supervisors have experienced absences. Rich has always put his staff before his own needs, taking great pride in his job and looking after the welfare of his staff at all times.

Rich talks passionately about the importance of our role in CMCU and its role within the force, he prides himself on having a close-knit team that support one another. He puts trust in his team and builds up a relationship with each and every one of them. His team work hard for Rich and it is reflected in his team’s consistently good attendance which is without a doubt, down to Rich and his management style.

Rich has been recognised for this by being awarded a Commanders Commendation, he also was awarded the top award at the National Control Awards for his leadership.

Judge’s Commendation – 26 March 2021

PC Jane Bickley

In July 2019, a motoring offence initiated a series of lies which grew ever more elaborate over a period of 18 months. Among his claims were that ‘people’ had reported seeing a car like his driving around revving up and driving in a crazy manner, his number plate had been stolen, he couldn’t drive due to medication so it couldn’t be him and  his car was off the road as it had hit a pothole, and police could check as he’d reported it to the council. 

PC Jane Bickley from the Safety Camera Unit investigated the case, having to disprove each new defence as the driver’s excuses became more and more desperate. She carried out extensive enquiries on each defence he offered to get to the truth and a charge of Perverting the Course of Justice was authorised.  The driver pleaded not guilty and continued to change his story as Jane disproved each new defence. 

At court he continued to make different claims and, having spent the whole day in court, Jane carried out further enquiries late into the evening and disproved them. 

Jane was the only prosecution witness, presenting all the evidence she had obtained.  He was found guilty at Exeter Crown Court in January wholly due to Jane’s investigation which unravelled what was described as a web of lies. 

The Judge went on further to say to Jane, “It seems to me the defendant was unfortunate, and the public were fortunate that you were investigating this case. If it was not for the attention you gave to the investigation, and the fine detail you unearthed, he may have got away with it.”

The man was sentenced to six months in prison by the judge.


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