North Wales Police volunteers celebrated at awards ceremony

The work and contribution of North Wales Police volunteers has been recognised at an awards ceremony in Colwyn Bay.

It was marked with the recognition of the contributions made by 33 serving Volunteer Police Officers who had each contributed over 200 hours during 2023.

Each officer was awarded with a certificate of recognition for the dedication shown to the role throughout the year.

During 2023, the Special Constabulary contributed over 22,000 hours of unpaid time towards helping their communities, supporting colleagues, training and managing other Special Constables, and taking part in numerous operations.

The occasion was also marked with the recognition of the contributions made by 33 serving Volunteer Police Officers who had each contributed over 200 hours during 2023.

Each officer was awarded with a certificate of recognition for the dedication shown to the role throughout the year.

During 2023, the Special Constabulary contributed over 22,000 hours of unpaid time towards helping their communities, supporting colleagues, training and managing other Special Constables, and taking part in numerous operations.

Connor Freel

As well as recognising the hours officers contributed, five officers were also presented with certificates of service for hitting their five-year milestones within the Special Constabulary.

Special Constables, also referred to as Volunteer Police Officers, have the same police powers, uniforms and equipment as regular police officers but give up their free time on a voluntary basis, balancing their busy personal lives, family, day jobs and other commitments around police duties.

The new officers, having completed their initial training were sworn in and presented with their warrant cards in the presence of friends and family on 18 April.

They will now be deployed out to their stations where their development will continue to be supported by both paid and voluntary colleagues.

The event also welcomed three new Special Constables to the rank.

Kevin Shenton is a Volunteer BikeSafe Observer. He adds another layer of support by co-ordinating dates and organising volunteers for the Bikesafe workshops.

Kevin Shenton a Volunteer BikeSafe Observer

He also supports training days for officers by acting as a role-player to make our training scenarios as realistic as possible.

Gary Leighton-Jones has a number of ‘hats’ as a PSV. He is a Cadet Leader, Critical Incident Debriefer and hits the jackpot with his role as lottery co-ordinator.

Successfully resurrecting the force lottery a number of years ago, through which a substantial amount has been raised for local charities.

Gary Leighton-Jones

Connor Freel has been the NWP LGBTQ+ Staff Support Liaison volunteer since late 2021.

With a vision to make the world a more inclusive place, Connor has had a huge impact within the force, in the wider community and nationally, being awarded the Wales LGBT+ Police Network Excellence Award and the Julie Barnes-Frank Award for Excellence in LGBT+ Policing in 2023.

Four volunteers from the Cyber Crime department were also recognised; Huw Vaughan Jones, Jason Davies, Gareth Evans and SC Dwain Barnes each offer a set of skills unique to the Cyber Crime Team and are advisors to NWP in their quest to Prevent, Protect, Prepare and Pursue.

Presenting the awards and assisting throughout the evening were High Sherriff of Gwynedd, Sarah Foskett JP and Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Evans who said: “It was an honour to attend the awards ceremony to recognise the contribution and achievements of so many of our amazing volunteers over the past year.

“I’m very aware of the amount of great work that goes on across North Wales which wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and dedication of all our volunteers, across so many different roles.

“From Special Constables and Police Support Volunteers to Police Cadets, all our volunteers play a vital part of policing and are an integral part of North Wales Police.

“I’d like to offer my sincere thanks to each dedicated individual who bring a unique set of skills and life experience to volunteer their free time to serve their community, and in doing so help us achieve our vision of making North Wales the safest place to live, work and visit in the UK.”