TWO officers who have previously served in Salisbury and Tisbury have been recognised with long service awards.

Sergeant Lucy Fair and PC Stephen Porter received the accolades at the Wiltshire Police Awards, held virtually on April 27.

The ceremony had been due to take place last year but was postponed due to the pandemic and instead took place virtually.

From response officer to collision investigator

Sergeant Fair received the Long Service Award and Inspirational Leadership Award. She joined Wiltshire Police in July 1999 and was posted to Salisbury as a response officer. Her other roles have included working as a beat officer in Tisbury and in the traffic unit.

In 2006 she achieved her ambition of becoming a forensic collision investigator and was posted to the newly-created Serious Collision Investigation Team in 2009 and then the Tri-Force Specialist Operations Collaboration with Avon and Somerset and Gloucester constabularies in 2014.

As part of this collaboration Sgt Fair became one of only three forensic collision investigators based in Wiltshire, with extended responsibility for the entire Tri-Force area. It was during the Tri-Force collaboration that Lucy passed her Sergeant exam.

In November 2018 she was posted to the Operations Transition Project Team, which was established to ensure the transition of Wiltshire Special Operations back to local county. She was given the opportunity to rebuild a collision investigation unit from scratch.

'I love my job and wouldn’t be anywhere else'

She said: “I really enjoyed that time and was incredibly proud to become the skipper of the newly-created Wiltshire Forensic Collision Investigation Unit (FCIU) that I had worked so hard to develop.

“I have a brilliant team of officers and staff working with me. We are continuing to develop the FCIU and strive to become one of the best FCIUs in the country. I love my job and wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

PC Stephen Porter

PC Stephen Porter was also awarded the Long Service Award. He joined Wiltshire Police in July 2002 after transferring from the Metropolitan Police.

Prior to this he served in HM Forces for 10 years with the Royal Military Police.

His first posting with Wiltshire Police was as a response officer in Salisbury and he has subsequently worked in various locations in the west and south of the county as part of the Community Policing Team and as a response officer.

Stephen’s favourite posting was his time covering Tisbury and Mere.

Bravery award

A highlight of Stephen’s career with the force was receiving an award at the National Police Bravery Awards in 2008 and also attending Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister.

The award related to an incident in 2007 at Westbury railway station, when Stephen and his colleague PC Sam Withey were on a night shift, the officers rescued a suicidal man. climbed onto a rooftop to rescue a man and save his life.

What the Chief Constable said

Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Kier Pritchard said: “As Chief Constable these awards are one of the highlights of my role. I am privileged to work with some incredible officers, staff and volunteers who demonstrate exemplary performance and dedication.”

He added: “Our officers, staff and volunteers work incredibly hard, often faced with challenging situations and difficult decisions.

“It is important that we take time to recognise and celebrate the amazing police work that happens around Wiltshire. These awards are always a pleasure to take part in and I really value the opportunity to officially say thank you.

“All those honoured at the awards have in one form or another demonstrated the values and standards that underpin Wiltshire Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. I am really proud of these brave and public spirited individuals, they are a credit to the Force and to the communities they serve.”

Praise from Police and Crime Commissioner

Wiltshire and Swindon Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson said: “It’s really quite humbling to celebrate the dedication and hard work of the award recipients - I am full of admiration for these teams and individuals who represent the very best of our community and of Wiltshire Police.

“I know that those being recognised represent just a small proportion of the excellent dedicated people who together make Wiltshire a safer place to live in. Well done to everyone who has been recognised on this occasion.”

 

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