Brief February 2017

Page 1

Speaking out on child abuse

Serving officer bravely shares his experience

De-coding the mystery How DCI Terry Crompton’s team used new tactics to pin down murder suspect

Meet the Speaker round-up

Five speakers get to the heart of the TOM Preventing terrorism

Interview with a Prevent officer


Columns

A positive year ahead WE can expect 2017 to be another interesting and challenging year but there are also some big opportunities for us. It is more than a year now that we have been working to implement our Target Operating Model (TOM) and as the recent ‘meet the speaker’ events have shown, a lot has been achieved. There are a number of early adopter sites where integrated public

service teams are working, we have rolled out 5,600 smartphones and tablets to frontline officers, and we are working to develop a Citizens Contract. The new technology has seen a million transactions take place with 90 per cent away from police stations and 14,000 witness statements submitted electronically instead of by hand. The technology is becoming a huge support to deliver the changes outlined in the TOM. But there is so much more taking place behind those headlines and during the coming months there will be more information about the future shape of policing.

Work on the investigation and safeguarding review is also underway being led by Supt Donna Allen and there is more detail within this edition of Brief. If you were not able to attend the ‘meet the speaker’ events the short talks will be available as part of a cascade package on TOM developments that will be circulated. We welcomed 100 new recruits at the start of January who are the first to join us from outside GMP in five years. Throughout last year there was a huge amount of work taking place to encourage people to join GMP and help us become more representative and diverse.

In a few months we will have the Greater Manchester mayoral election and that will bring changes and new opportunities for us. I am grateful for the support that PCC Tony Lloyd and Deputy PCC Jim Battle have given GMP over many years. They have been instrumental in the transformation of policing in Greater Manchester but have also challenged us. I know we all wish them both well for the future.

I will use the money raised to stabilise current officer numbers and bolster the frontline. Last year for the first time in five years GMP was able to recruit new officers, each one bringing their own unique experiences, skills and ideas to the frontline. And I am sure many of you will have already welcomed the new recruits to the role and shown them the ropes.

I am incredibly proud of the service you deliver, often under difficult and demanding conditions. The officers I meet on a daily basis show a commitment to public service that is second-to-none and the people of Greater Manchester are – quite deservedly – being served by some of the best officers in the UK.

Ian Hopkins, Chief Constable

Committed to public service I know you will be more than aware of the impact that budget cuts have had on GMP because, despite the promises the government made to protect the police budget, they continued to cut our funding.

2

Of course I understand the pressure people and families across Greater Manchester are under, but in order to protect our neighborhood policing model and keep our communities safe I have been left with no choice but to ask for a small increase in the council tax bill of around 10p a week. It’s vital that I give you the support you need to protect and serve our communities, and these additional funds will help us deliver a service local people deserve.

Tony Lloyd, Police & Crime Commissioner


4 Around the World & Women in Policing event Weird and wonderful stories from around the globe

12

Julie Barnes-Frank tribute and

Specials support slavery work A moving tribute to an inspirational colleague plus find out about how Specials are lending their language skills

Spotlight

GMP Life

13 Speaking out on child abuse

Catch up with the goings on around GMP’s divisions

Serving officer bravely shares his experience to help others

Members of the public thank officers and staff for their work

8 What’s

14 Meet the Speakers

21 Chinese New Year celebration &

trending Social media highlights so far this year

Five speakers took to the stage to bring Targeting Operating Model to life

Triathlon championship First event of its kind for the Year of the Rooster

9

Coda A detailed look at an exceptional murder investigation led by DCI Terry Sweeney

Behaviour

Change team & 50 years of service P5 Prison riot training Meet the people supporting culture change in GMP

10 Meet the Mechanic & Data quality One of our mechanics shares his top tips vehicles plus data quality campaign update

11

BWV ground-breaking conviction &

Citizen Contract launch A new development for BWV and more on the Citizen Contract consultations

16

Preventing the threat

22 Sport & Charity Special makes national rugby team

23 Top Runner & Discount Guru PC Moody clocks up the miles for a charity close to her heart, plus a new regular feature the Discount Guru

Interview with a CTU Prevent officer on their role tackling extremism P21 Celebrating the Year of the Rooster Meet Donna

17

Allen Spotlight on Supt Allen and the Investigation & Safeguarding review

on child abuse

on Can you come up with a caption for this month’s competition?

5 News in Brief 6-7 Force Round-up

15 Cover feature: Cracking the

P13 Officer speaks out

18 Caption competition & What’s 19 Adverts & Obituaries 20 Letters of Appreciation

Contents

News

With thanks to the following people for their contribution to this issue:

PC Darren Kenny

Supt Donna Allen

DCI Terry Crompton

PC Andy Webb

Dave Maffei

Be published in Brief Editorial team: Melissa Mead, Fiona Carroll, Rosie Arnold, Melissa Pye Photographers: Chris Oldham and Bill Morris 0161 856 2777 | Picture Desk: Lisa Marks 0161 856 2279 Designed and produced by: Corporate Communications, Force Headquarters, Central Park, M40 5BP Contact numbers: 0161 85 65939 / 2238 / 5938 Email: Brief@gmp.police.uk Brief online: www.gmp.police.uk/Brief

Articles and contributions for the next edition of Brief should be submitted by

Friday 17 March 3


News

Around the world were shocked to find a child at the A man dressed as a beer bottle is being wheel. sought by police after allegedly stealing Police Chief Keith Loreno commented: “besides himself, he placed a lot of two pizzas without paying. Police are people in serious danger.’ looking to

Wales

identify the reveller who was caught on CCTV at Papa Johns in Barry.

The boy was taken into custody and charged with fleeing from a law enforcement officer. His parents haven’t been charged, but juvenile court and children’s services are reviewing the case.

He is said to have entered a staff-only area and helped himself to the pizzas and left without paying.

Loreno warned parents to store their car keys somewhere safe, out of the reach of curious children.

USA

The ‘unusual wreckage’ was found on Sunday 29 January and was later moved by Traffic Officers.

Police in Ohio have charged a 10-yearold boy after he drove his parents’ car 11 miles to the city. The car was spotted driving erratically and without the headlights on. This sparked a brief pursuit by police reaching 70mph before it came to an end when the car hit the kerb. Officers

4

England Traffic on the M1 in Derbyshire was stuck in rows after a canoe was found in the fast lane.

Engage, Inform, Inspire

ACC Rob Potts, Karen Daber and Ch Supt Zoe Sheard with students

IN January, Greater Manchester Police hosted a professional development day, focusing on BME women in policing. Police officers and members of staff attended a learning development event with students from Manchester Academy and Abraham Moss High School. These selected year 11 students have expressed an interest in policing and criminal justice and got the opportunity to learn about the variety of roles within GMP, encouraging people to join the force, particularly BME women. The event was hosted by former Cambridge Police ACC Karen Daber along with GMP speakers Ds Alicia Smith and Sgt Meena Yasin. Ch Supt Zoe Sheard, head of workforce female development for GMP opened the event drawing on her personal experiences as a officer for 30 years and progression through the organisation.

ACC Rob Potts, who holds the portfolio for diversity in GMP, emphasised the importance young people’s views and events like this help us understand the issues they face. Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “It is our operational need as a Force to have officers and staff that are representative of the communities we protect. It is great that such influential women in policing came together to inspire the next generation.”

Former Cambridge Police senior officer Karen Daber


Over 100 new officers

joined GMP in January and they have been getting stuck A series of wellbeing seminars in with an engagement week delivered by health and nutrition guru of activities and training out in John Pommells are being run throughout February and March. the communities they will be John, having worked in the industry for policing. over 10 years, has a comprehensive Pictured below are some of background as a Personal Trainer and a the Bury and Rochdale recruits as they GMP recently conducted a series of attended a transgender awareness Lifestyle coach. He was introduced to training exercises in order to prepare for GMP by Inspector Damian O’Reilly after training session, hosted by Dawn dealing with disorder in prisons. Damian enrolled for a few sessions with Pomfret from him. Damian The training took place over three Transforum was so days in a HM Prison Service facility, Manchester. inspired that which allowed officers to train in a large The Chief he felt his scale and realistic prison environment. Constable also colleagues The scenario involved containing a dropped in to could benefit large-scale disorder and clearing a see how they too. prison wing. were getting The events The exercises are intended to on. will be a full ensure the Force is able to assist HM CC Ian day running CC Ian Hopkins with new recruits Hopkins said: from 9.30“The 2.30pm. Engagement They will include four sessions Week provides a fantastic opportunity throughout the day exploring a range of for our future frontline officers to go out different subjects including health and and meet the communities where they nutrition, relaxation and creative fitness will be working. techniques. The remaining dates are 23 “It is extremely important that as well

February, 2 March and 9 March – please email damian.o’reilly@gmp.police.uk for more information and how to book.

News

Prison Service should it be required.

as learning from our experienced officers about their neighbourhoods, that the new recruits are introduced to the diverse range of communities that make up Greater Manchester.” 500 new recruits are expected to join GMP this financial year alone, which will maintain the number of frontline officers at its current level.

11 people were arrested in early February as part of a crackdown on organised crime in North Manchester. Officers executed warrants at a number of addresses across Miles Platting and Ancoats as part of Operation Rudow; a multi-agency operation targeting organised crime and the supply of drugs in North Manchester. Detective Inspector Paul Walker, of GMP’s Challenger Manchester Organised Crime Unit, said: “We will systematically root out and dismantle groups that seek to profit from flooding our streets with drugs. "By sharing information with our partners, we are better equipped to tackle organised crime and make it impossible for them to profit from it.”

5


Divisional News

Force Round-up Rochdale Following a call from the Community Mental Health Team, Rochdale police attended a property to complete a welfare check on a 57 year old male and his partner, yet they were refused entry. Both parties would not talk with officers and were threatening to self-harm with knives. Force negotiators and Specialist Operations Team officers attended to support the divisional officers. Negotiations lasted over nine hours but eventually both parties voluntary left the address unharmed for assessment.

Oldham Officers from Oldham Challenger executed a warrant at an address in Oldham and recovered approximately 43kg of amphetamine and 9kg of cannabis resin, including hundreds of deal ready bags of the same. The approximate street value for the drugs is believed to be in the region of ÂŁ500,000. A 46 year old male was later arrested and has admitted his involvement and is awaiting the CPS charging decision.

City of Manchester

Salford

A dedicated tutor unit has been set up in order to support the new student officers that are currently in their initial training phase. There are currently 34 officers with tutor constables and 77 further student officers due on division in March. The Tutor Unit is made up of four experienced officers who form the borough assessment team, their primary role is to assist and support the student officers in their completion of the City and Guilds I-Portfolio over the two years probationary period. They do this by joining the student officer for tours of Duty and observing them carrying out their frontline role.

Police were called to reports of a suspicious device in a garden in Swinton. Explosive Ordnance Disposal were contacted and they discovered what they believed to be a shell from a tank. They safely removed the device and all the residents returned to their homes.

Wigan PC Powell and SC Davis tackled armed robbers who tried to attack them with a 4ft long metal crow bar. Despite being outnumbered 3 to 2, the officers detained a man who was later charge and remand in custody.

Stockport PC Cummings and PCSO Crehan from Bramhall were grateful to receive thanks in the form of cup-cakes. After attending a call to a 16 year old girl who was unconscious and not breathing, Crehan administered CPR until the arrival of the ambulance. The girl made a full recovery after a night in hospital.

6

Tasty looking thank you

Elsewhere, PCSO Mohammed Asaf joined Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom at Cheadle Hulme High school in January for the launch of the Laurus trust, which aims to give children from ordinary backgrounds the same opportunities as private school children.

PCSO Mohammed Asaf & Orlando Bloom


Officers at Bury have set up the Bury Veterans Support group providing a bespoke level of assistance to military veterans, who we often only come across in times of crisis. Veterans can suffer with self-harm issues, drug and alcohol addictions and may attempt suicide. In many cases they are often too proud to ask for help and see the Police as the enemy. The group has only been in existence a few weeks but already it has seen a number of referrals from PCSOs and NBOs. A member of the group will meet the veteran when they are not in crisis, to build bridges and highlight the benefits of a referral to Walking with the Wounded. Although the Veterans project is primarily designed to support vulnerable adults in the community, it is clear that it will ultimately reduce demand on the Police, by signposting residents to appropriate groups where their needs will be better assessed and addressed.

Bolton Bolton played host to the relaunch of Best Bar None, GMP’s awards scheme for bars and nightclubs across Greater Manchester. Having started in Manchester in 2003, Best Bar None is a Home Office backed initiative that sees the Police, local authorities and bar and club owners work together to reduce alcohol-related harm. In the coming months GMP will roll out the initiative in Bury, Salford, Tameside and Rochdale. Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts from GMP said: “Best Bar None gives us a standard for everyone to

work towards and it’s a real positive for Bolton that the re-launch is happening here. There have been some high profile incidents around the town’s nightlife recently and this is a very clear message that we are committed to working together to ensure everyone can enjoy the night time economy.” For more information please visit www.bbnuk.com

Tameside A bookkeeper who defrauded her employer out of more than £20,000 was handed a suspended prison sentence in January. Wendy Horrocks from Dukinfield was sentenced to 12 months in prison and suspended for two years for the fraudulent activity she carried out whilst working for Headsets for business. Horrocks was found to be exploiting her access to her firm's PayPal account by diverting funds to two personal accounts over a period of three years.

Divisional News

Bury

Airport Intoxicated passenger Lance Wheelwright had to be arrested when he assaulted a member of cabin crew and racially abused a fellow passenger on a flight from Amsterdam, after reportedly being refused eight cans of Stella Artois. His behaviour led to him getting a life time ban from the airline Flybe.

Trafford On Wednesday 11 January 2017, officers recovered 3.5kg of cocaine with an estimated street value of 350,000, and a taser which was disguised as a torch from an address in Stretford. A 31-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply and possession of a firearm. He remains in custody for questioning. Detective Inspector Paul Walker, of GMP’s Challenger operation, said: “Excellent detective work has ensured this vast amount of drugs will not reach the streets of Manchester.”

77


What’s Trending?

Bobbies in America

Cats help Berlin suspect search At the end of December last year when police were searching for the suspect in the Berlin terrorist attack, people were encouraged to share pictures of their cats to stop details of the manhunt being leaked.

POLICE constables Brian Delaney and Marc Foster found fame in an American newspaper.

When Karen Allen fro m America surprised her husband Tom with a flight to Manchester to see a premiere league football match, they bumped into two of our officers. Ticking

In the same way that people took over the hashtags discussing the terror attacks in Belgium and Paris previously, the Berlin attack hashtag was flooded with pictures of cats.

‘a trip to watch Manchester United play’ off Tom’s bucket list, PCs Brian and Marc were more than happy to pose for a photo to mark the occasion.

Pup takes no prisoners Drago, the 11-week-old German Shepherd, became a viral superstar when footage of his top-notch policing skills went online. He may look cute, but after a strong tug on the officer’s leg, his target was floored and quickly admitting defeat against the puppy’s might. Drago is now living with his dog handler and will continue his training to make sure he’s top dog when out on patrol. You can watch him in action here

8

American newspaper clipping

Man asks for trouble with phone A man made the mistake of asking a random person to film him on his phone. He may have had his phone stolen, but he’s become a social media sensation in the process.


MIKE Thornton has received a Special Recognition award from Chief Constable Ian Hopkins for completing 50 years’ service with GMP. Mike has been with GMP from the very beginning. He joined what was Cheshire Police on 8 January 1967 and then transferred to Greater Manchester Police in 1974 when the force was established . He spent 37 years as a police officer, progressing to the rank of Detective Chief Inspector. Working in a range of operational roles including; Neighbourhood Policing, Traffic, CID and eventually Professional Standards. He has seen the concept of policing change with the development of technology, from police boxes to radios to mobile. In 2004 he retired as a police officer and joined as staff to the role of File Manager for the Professional Standards Branch before moving to his current role of Complaints Manager. At a time in life when many are enjoying or contemplating retirement, Mike continues to show motivation and commitment to his work, showing such adaptability and inspiring so many in the process.

Mike Thornton with his certificate

Turn and face the Change

to demand, outside scrutiny and reduced investment in training. This new role is an opportunity to help in delivering an excellent service to our communities and staff; I’m excited to join such an innovative team and really help to develop a change in GMP.” Bringing all these skill sets together is pivotal in ensuring we have the right people, with the right experience and an open mind to embed a change in how we do things and ultimately work towards our desired culture. The enthusiastic team will aim to make a real difference over the next year at transforming the organisation and keeping GMP’s workforce informed and engaged with the changes taking Here to make that change: The Behaviour Change Team place. KNOWN for implementing change police service and the diverse mix of Cath Timmons, Behaviour Change programmes and encouraging new rank, role, age and gender ensures Lead commented: “I am really proud to behaviours to help change our culture, that there is no project they can’t be leading such an enthusiastic team the Business Improvement Team have support. The team between them has who are passionate about helping undergone their very own gained experience in a number of GMP to improve. I really believe that transformation with the addition of new different roles including uniform together, working with our staff, team members and a change of name operations, safeguarding, place based leaders and partners we can make a to the Behaviour Change Team. working, leadership development, staff real difference to the lives of the The whole team is now made up of engagement, coaching, governance people and communities of Greater and includes specialist secondments. Manchester. Often when large the Behaviour Change lead, nine Behaviour Change Consultants (six Chief Inspector Dave Gilbride who organisations do change they forget are Chief Inspectors) two Business just recently enjoyed a secondment to about the people feeling the impact on Improvement Partners and one the Office of the Police and Crime the front line. Our job is to ensure that Development Officer, supported by an Commissioner working with the Victim our people are at the heart of the entry level apprentice and a secondee. Service Team said: “I have learned change and their views and feedback Between them they bring a wealth that police and partners are often shape the way we in GMP do change of knowledge to the team. Experience restricted in how we engage with in the future.” victims and manage expectations, due combined equates to over 100 years

News

Golden Mike’s 50 years

9


Data we can

News

depend on

LAST year, officers and staff came together to raise the bar for data we can depend on, but there’s still more work to do. Collecting and sharing the most shocking case studies alongside weekly guidance pieces, we worked to show the real consequences of poor data quality. Following this, November saw the month of data cleansing action where dedicated SPOCs on division worked to reduce the number of duplicate nominal records on our systems. Before, staff were merging around 6,000 records a month and this has been increased to over 12,000. Although the data quality survey showed that 95% of people carry out a thorough search before creating a new record, 4% still felt they didn’t have sufficient knowledge of what’s expected when recording a crime. On the work put in to improving our data quality, Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling said: “The efforts and the enthusiasm demonstrated for the month of action has been a good start. Hopefully a sign that culture, behaviour and attitudes towards data are changing.” The work isn’t over yet, so let’s keep raising the bar for data we can depend on. Stay posted on the Force Intranet news for any developments.

10

Keeping the wheels of GMP moving: Mechanic Dave Maffei

Meet the mechanic MEET Dave Maffei, a man whose job it is to keep the wheels of GMP moving, literally. Dave has been a mechanic since he was 16 and 12 years on, he’s using his vehicle expertise to keep police officers on the road. We sat down with Dave to get a picture of what a life as a GMP mechanic entails. “I used to work at Kwikfit which was great, but I had always wanted to work on police vehicles so when I saw the job advertised I went for it straight away. I’ve worked with GMP for nearly

two years now but no two days are the same. I’ll typically be looking at the car’s suspension, knocks, their brakes and minor issues like this.” With the amount of miles that police cars drive above normal vehicles, it’s not surprising that they get so much wear and tear. “Luckily, a lot of these issues get picked up in the regular services as they’re done to such a high specification. “The checks that our vehicles have to go through

are so much more thorough than a traditional service, which means any problems are spotted quickly. “The worst damage I’ve seen is a BMW engine that set on fire. Another vehicle that came in recently had been involved in a high speed collision where the officers had to be cut out of the car. “This kind of work doesn’t come in every day, sometimes you can get three heavily damaged vehicles coming in over a weekend but then other times you don’t see something like that for months. “How much officers respect their cars makes a difference. You’ll see broken heater vents, switches and trim handles where officers have been messing around. “The weight of an officer’s

uniform also makes a big impact on the cars, as the seats and carpets get worn down very fast.” Dave says the best thing about working on the cars is that everything is based at Openshaw, so you can fix a wing, bumper, all the bodywork, painting the vehicles as well as a service. He said: “I really enjoy what I do because it’s different every day. The people I work with are great and the workshop is clean and warm. “I wouldn’t change what I do. You leave work knowing that you’ve put something back into the frontline and have given officers the reassurance that their vehicle is safe, which is really satisfying.”


Launching the Citizen Contract consultations KEEPING Greater Manchester safe isn’t just down to GMP - the public need to play their part in supporting policing by working with us. The Citizen Contract will be a written agreement between the police and the public about the service we can provide, but also what we need in return from our communities. Over the coming months there will be three phases undertaken in order to form the wording for our contract which will consist of; the consultation, review and public launch. The first stage is now underway and over the next few weeks there will be both conversations happening with GMP colleagues and members of the public to gather feedback on what the Contract should include. This impacts on all of us, so we ask everyone to share the details of the public consultations with their family and friends to encourage them to voice

their opinions. More details of the public consultations can be found on the GMP website. As well as the public it is also vital that we have a large cross section of ranks and roles attending the consultation meetings to ensure the wider feedback is being heard. Officers who deal with the public on a daily basis are encouraged to attend to deliver a realistic situation analysis. We need to know the challenges that GMP faces and how we can work together to find solutions. If you are interested in sharing your ideas and getting involved please let your interest be known by emailing your line manager or email internal.comms@gmp.police.uk April will see the feedback being reviewed and the launch is expected to go live at the end of April/May. To find out more about the Citizen contract visit the Fit for Future pages here.

FOR the first time in GMP, body worn video footage has been used to secure a guilty plea from an offender. The footage presented at court was sufficient enough to secure the guilty plea without officers having to attend. The footage shows PC Michelle Gee and PC Simon Toft dealing with an aggravated burglary incident. It’s a great example of how footage captured on BWV can be used as the primary evidence to secure both the conviction and the guilty plea. A member of the public reported an offender to the police for theft happening on her road, and mentioned that the man, Steven Anthony Bowen usually carried a knife. PC Michelle Gee was the first officer to attend and found a broken entry at the back of a house. When her colleague arrived a short time later, they entered the address. Given the potential risk, Michelle drew her baton and PC Simon Toft his taser shouting out to identify themselves as officers carrying a taser. They heard a movement upstairs and Bowen ran down the stairs to find the officers in the hallway,

before turning and pointing a firearm towards Simon’s chest. Believing the firearm was real and concerned for Michelle and his own life, Simon shouted to warn that he had a taser and fired it at Bowen. Despite falling to the floor, Bowen attempted to grab his firearm again so Simon and Michelle had to restrain him. Bowen was processed and charged with aggravated burglary. Although it was later confirmed that Bowen’s firearm was an imitation, Simon and Michelle were unaware and had genuine fears for their safety. Simon later confided that when Bowden pointed the firearm at him, he was consumed by thoughts of himself and Michelle featuring in the papers after they had been killed. The entire incident was caught on their body worn cameras, which show the officers maintaining their professionalism and composure throughout a very stressful situation where they believed their lives were at risk.

News

Body worn video breakthrough

11


News

A truly inspirational colleague

Rest in peace: Julie Barnes-Frank

RETIRED police officer Julie Barnes-Frank, who passed away in January, has been honoured with an engraved plaque on the Pride network’s flag pole. Julie joined GMP in February 1979 and retired from the Force as a sergeant after 30 years’ service in February 2009. During her time at GMP she was instrumental in the development of the Lesbian and Gay Staff Association (LAGSA) to ensure that LGBT police officers and staff

MSCU to get the volunteers out with the team. Detective Constable Chris Neild said: “The training was open to all Specials, but the fact that we have so many with language skills, particularly Hungarian and Romanian is fantastic - we want to involve the Special Constabulary going forward.” Special Constable David Dombai was a great asset at the Airport speaking to incoming Hungarian nationals. David said, “I enjoyed the

Breaking the barrier

GMP Specials are gearing up to help support the Modern Slavery Coordination Unit (MSCU) by making the most of their collective language skills. After identifying that 124 of GMP’s Specials can speak at least one of 24 different languages, training has been arranged by the

12

were treated fairly, and with dignity and respect within the force. She brought about real, meaningful and lasting change in policing, not just in Greater Manchester, but across the country. She was one of the first people to march in the Pride parade and in 2012 she was the first winner of the LGBT Foundation and Manchester City Council Alan Turing memorial award, for all her work to end homophobia.

training session, the Airside duty at Manchester Airport was really exciting and special to me, as I have never used my language skills as a Special before. As a Hungarian I was able to assist alongside the qualified interpreters after the Budapest flight arrived. We conducted interviews with people who fit the profile. “I proved to be useful as many of the new Hungarian arrivals could not speak English at all. I could explain to the Hungarians why we were conducting the interviews and that we were not targeting them, but trying to protect them from being a victim of such a horrible crime.”

The Pride network have made a lasting memorial to honour Julie by having a plaque engraved onto the Pride flag pole (pictured above) the tribute reads: Carried in memory of Sergeant Julie Barnes-Frank Served in GMP 1979 to 2009 Throughout her service Julie supported countless LGBT colleagues and worked to change policy to prevent bullying and gain acceptance for LGBT staff. Julie was instrumental in the development of the Lesbian and Gay Staff Affiliation and was one of the first officers to march in the London Pride parade 2003.


Spotlight

Ending the silence Fiona Carroll interviewed a serving officer who is sharing his story in the hope of helping other victims of historic child abuse I’M sat waiting for Darren Kenny to arrive and in walks a big strong guy, full of banter and stories from 13 years on the job. Little would you expect him to tell such a harrowing tale. Darren, a serving GMP police officer, has waived his right to anonymity to speak out about the historical sexual abuse he suffered as a 13-year-old boy. The catalyst for Darren to reveal his abuse came when he realised that his abuser, John Wright, was still alive and was already in prison for similar offences. The sense of closure that Darren had felt then was lost and he needed to regain it. Whilst trying to process this new information, he confided in a colleague. It was a spur of the moment decision but Darren was in control as to how he wanted to proceed. “I Abuser John Wright realised that

morally, there’s not just me, there are other victims too,” he recalls. “I signed up to the cops to detect, report and resolve crime regardless of whether I am a victim or not.” He got in touch with the original officer who worked on Wright’s previous cases and started the investigation process. Darren explains how it was ‘weird’ to switch roles from an officer to a victim, and that being on the other side of the table was a new experience. Although he understands the police process he says he felt comfortable and genuinely cared for, without feeling like they were going through the motions. His colleagues and supervisors were extremely supportive. “I probably wouldn’t have got as far without the support of the Officer In Case (OIC) and GMP. Both as an employer and a police service I have found GMP fantastic - and that’s not just because I am a cop it’s because I was a victim of that crime and they took me seriously.” He has waived his right to anonymity to make people aware that it can happen to anyone. “I felt I had a duty to report this crime against me. I hold a warrant card and it is my duty to do the right

PC Darren Kenny : The effects don’t stop at the abuse, it’s with you for life: “It doesn’t go away but it does get easier if you talk about it.” thing and stop this man from hurting others. As an experienced cop I’ve seen many things yet I know how scary and serious this situation is. The earlier in life you can deal with the abuse, the sooner you can enjoy family life in a way I couldn’t.” By coming forward, he hopes that it will empower other victims to come to terms with the abuse so that it doesn’t ruin their life. “The message to other people who are sat there thinking I can’t report it, I can’t do this… look at me. I am here, I am a 50-year-old cop… If I can do it I am quite sure they can.” Darren has learnt from his experience as a victim and feels it has made him a better police officer. “I think I am in a better place to talk to survivors of sexual abuse because I’ve been there”. His

focus is on the victim, putting the control back in their hands and asking them “What do you want to do about it?” After many months of investigation Darren’s abuser, John Stephenson Wright, was convicted of the charges and had a further 18 months added to his 22 year prison sentence. For Darren, the number of months was incidental. “The sentence doesn’t matter, the fact he was found guilty by a jury does matter. I was just happy I finally got it dealt with and that people believed me and my memories as a 13-year-old boy.” Since waving his right to anonymity another victim of John Wright has come forward, and Darren has been contacted by three other possible victims of abuse by different offenders.

13


Spotlight

Speaking from the heart Sgt Kal Bhatti talking about the Citizen Contract

FIVE GMP officers and staff have taken centre stage throughout January in a series of events designed to get to the heart of the Target Operating Model (TOM). This year the ‘Meet the Speaker’ events replicated the ‘TED’ talk format, which sees inspiring speakers talk for just 18 minutes on a subject that they are passionate about, bringing the TOM principles to life. First to take to the stage was Neighbourhood Beat Officer Mike

PC Duzinkewycz’s emotive talk

14

Duzinkewycz from Denton West, who was talking about the importance of place based working. His harrowing account of witnessing a suicide, knowing later that it could have been prevented, shocked the audience. He used this example to explain how pivotal integrated teams are in protecting the most vulnerable in our communities. The feedback was positive and the second event of the week saw a rise in momentum and attendees. Sgt Kal Bhatti from Longsight talked about the Citizen Contract, introducing problem solving and different ways of working within our communities. His enthusiasm was clear and the open discussion afterwards generated ideas to empower local citizens and encouraging them to work with GMP instead of against us.

Word had spread and the third event on Threat Harm and Risk around Modern Slavery even had a reserve list. Hannah Flint from the charity Stop the Traffik was a teacher in Africa, where she discovered some horrifying truths around human trafficking and decided to return home and fight for the cause. The subject matter resonated with the audience who seemed determined to join Hannah in doing more. Soon ideas for campaigns, awareness and officer training were all being discussed. The forth event in the series addressed how to care for yourself and your own wellbeing. PC Liz Woodward presented an honest account of her diagnosis of dyspraxia and the difficulty she faced when disclosing that information to GMP. She explained how she coped both personally and professionally while supporting her distraught son who was diagnosed with the same condition. An inspirational story, many were holding back tears with the realisation that you never know what someone else is going through. This sparked discussion around stopping the stigma of asking for help and the importance of supporting your colleagues. For the final session PC Michael Cartwright took to the stage to show the benefits of officers using their body worn camera. Knowing that

people wouldn’t just take his word for it, he showed three short clips that supported the need for body worn video (BWV). A question and answer session from the BWV team and IS Transformation Programme on the iOPS closed the event. The events have been a huge success, reaching over 350 officers and staff and engaging our workforce through the use of credible frontline speakers.

PC Liz Woodward’s honest discussion

Video clips from the events will form part of a communication cascade pack sent to managers for the teams that couldn’t attend. Ideas and solutions received from the discussions at the event will be fed back to the relevant project teams to implementing changes and improvements where required.

to the five Thank you everyone d n a s r e k a spe nd made a d e d n e tt who a ss ch a succe u s t n e v e the


WHEN you have a fatal shooting but no physical evidence or witnesses, where do you turn? We met with DCI Terry Crompton to find out why his team won ‘Team of the Year’ in the National Homicide Working Group for their ground-breaking work.

DS Nicola McCulloch and DCI Terry Crompton at the scene of the shooting

On October 4 2014, a man was found dead with no witnesses and no clue, other than the fatal gunshot, of what had happened. DCI Crompton and his team knew they were going to have to take another approach to bring the perpetrator to justice. The investigation took its first step forward when it was discovered that the victim, Kieran McGrath, had a long and violent feud with rival Anthony Henry. After looking into the pair’s rocky past, it came to light that Henry had previously attached a tracking device to McGrath’s car to keep an eye on his movements.

When Henry was eventually found and brought in for questioning, he refused to make any comment. Met with silence, the team took a closer look at McGrath’s car and found that another tracker had been attached. This meant it was very likely that Henry had traced McGrath to help him plot the murder. With further analysis of the location data from the tracker, they could see where the device went before it was attached, which would hopefully match Henry’s movements. Certain that he was responsible, the team looked into where Henry had been in

organise the shooting. This was the final confirmation needed to prove that Anthony Henry had been controlling the device used to track McGrath and ultimately coordinate his murder, with the help of four accomplices. By layering all the digital evidence the team had collected on Henry and his accomplices, they found that the murder had been coordinated at associate, Scott Chapman’s house. From here, Henry had tracked McGrath’s location to the nearby Sheldon Arms pub and used a phone bought by accomplice Troy Beckford, to send Jace Smith and Remi Adams to execute McGrath as he left. Anthony Henry, Troy Beckford, Remi Adams and Jace Smith were all found guilty of murder and sentenced to a total of 124 years thanks to the work of the Op Coda team.

Spotlight

Cracking the Coda

the build up to the murder and sure enough, CCTV footage around Henry’s address matched the tracker’s movements before it was attached to McGrath’s car. Pinning down the location of the tracker to McGrath’s movements had given the team a glimmer of the evidence, but they knew they’d have to dig deeper to get a conviction. If they could find the device McGrath’s location had been accessed on, they could prove Henry was responsible. They discovered that McGrath’s location had been monitored on an iPad, which was helpful as it required internet access to load the information. Every internet point has its own unique IP address that identifies the user, so the iPad’s IP address should have been able to tie Henry to the control of McGrath’s murder. Unfortunately, the device was run on a networked SIM card which meant the IP address was shared with thousands of users, leaving the team unable to pinpoint Henry to the iPad. Determined, they looked into other options to tie the iPad to Henry, but it was only with help from a technology expert from Manchester Metropolitan University that the evidence fell into place. With his assistance, they could see that the iPad had been stationary around Henry’s address and only moved on October 3 and 4 when he took it to his associate’s house to

DCI Terry Crompton commented: “This case was unique in so many ways. A lot of the investigation techniques had never been used before. We never found the iPad itself - you don’t need to anymore because the data is still there, even if you destroy the evidence. “I am incredibly proud of my team and the operation has changed my view of how we approach investigations. There is a wealth of digital evidence we can use, we just need to know how.”

15


Spotlight

Preventing terrorism in Greater Manchester

WITH the UK threat level remaining at SEVERE, terrorism is still a major concern CTU Prevent Officer for our Andy Webb communities. Melissa Mead spoke to CTU Prevent Officer Andy Webb to get an inside view of what it’s like to work in this field.

area I really wanted to move into. I started this role in Bury last year.

part of the reason for this approach was that of Nicky Reilly, a young man with Asperger’s Syndrome who was radicalised over the internet. He detonated a bomb in a restaurant – fortunately no one died as he had used some incorrect materials. However, a full review revealed that key warning signs had been missed by public agencies who did not share information with each other.

What might our officers and staff NOT know about your role?

Can you tell me in a nutshell what Prevent There’s a bit of a myth that we are ‘spies’. officers do? Prevent officers are not covert officers – in In essence, our role is to conduct fact we’d make rubbish spies! We are all neighbourhood policing within a counter about being open and transparent with terrorism context. We are there to build whoever we come into contact with so we relationships with our communities and can build up trust. partners with the aim of stopping people What’s the biggest challenge of your job? from supporting or getting involved in One of the hardest things is that often the violent extremism before they cross over people we work with don’t believe they into criminality. There are 14 of us across How did you get to be a Prevent Officer? have done anything wrong. It can be GMP. difficult to get people to see that their I joined GMP in 2009 on the Trafford Can you tell us more about what Prevent ideology is flawed and to show them a division as a response cop. Previously I had is? different perspective. But when you do been working as a cells officer at Salford Magistrate when I realised that I wanted to The national Prevent strategy was launched make a breakthrough it’s incredibly by the Government in 2009, after it was rewarding. do something more proactive out in the community. Before that I was a baker! I was identified that more preventative work What tips do you have for officers and needed to be done to stop home grown a Prevent champion on my division and I staff about their own personal security? knew then that counter terrorism was the extremism. One particular case cited as My number one piece of advice is to be

16

aware of what is available about you online. Set your privacy settings on any social media up to the maximum and avoid posting anything that can identify your location or place of work. Don’t make it easy for people to find out information about you and your loved ones. How real is the threat of terrorism in Greater Manchester? The current threat level is the second highest at SEVERE, meaning an attack is highly likely. We can only go up to CRITICAL which is when an attack is imminent in the next few hours. I think the public as well as our own staff can be reassured that the Government is taking this issue incredibly seriously and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the UK has not seen a large-scale incident for a number of years. What are you most proud of so far in your role? Honestly I am very proud of landing this role in the first place! I hope it shows other officers that it’s not out of reach if it’s an area they’d like to go into – regardless of whether you have worked in a specialist public protection role or not.

NWCTU are currently recruiting. If you’d like to find out more, please click here. To find out about who your local Prevent Officer is, please click here


An interview with Donna Allen

Spotlight

giving the best possible service to the looking at the questions an operator communities we work with every day. asks the resource we send to speak to the victim in each case, we’re making “The review will bring to life the sure that the service we provide is force’s Target Operating Model by asking, what should sit at place, division always what’s best for people in Manchester. and force level to make sure we have the best “We’re making sure “The right resource, whether Donna’s talent was clear and in ROSIE Arnold met with Supt resource in the right that’s an officer in uniform, a that the service we 2014, she became the first person to Donna Allen to find out more about place. partner agency or a provide is always what’s her role as lead for the Investigation become head of a borough as a detective, should always be “In essence, the best for people in Temporary Superintendent. She Safeguarding Review, and the career available at the first point of review will make sure Manchester.” thoroughly enjoyed her position leading that at force level we’re path she has taken to get to this contact so that we avoid the Tameside division but left to join the dealing with the most point. duplication and wasting any Investigation Safeguarding Review Donna Allen is no stranger to hard serious and complex cases, at borough time so that we can give the best team in January. work, having joined the police back in possible service to every victim.” level we deal with high volume and 1980 as a cadet. After training as a Donna said the move is a great fit serious cases and at place level it’s When asked for how we define police constable the following year, she and is impressed by the fresh about volume crime and safeguarding. threat, harm and risk, Donna said: “It’s moved to the bright lights of London perspective that the team have on how in everything we do, it’s the reason “We’ve been running a pilot in where she worked GMP is working. we’re here - we have to realise what is Stockport around investigation the beat until 1987. the biggest threat and understand how safeguarding with the Local Policing “I am so passionate “It’s a fantastic team who have After a career really innovative ways of looking at Review Team to look at a number of is it going to impact our community.” about the work that break to raise her how the force is going to be areas, including how we are solving our we’re doing because working in the future. twin daughters, victim’s problems it’s going to make a “The review team brings together Donna was keen to at the first point of real difference.” get back to work police staff, officers and consultants contact.” and joined to work with our Public Protection The pilot is Merseyside Police as soon as the girls Division and Serious Crime Division. looking closely at were at school full time. A few years “I’ve only been with the team for a the critical time down the line, she made the decision to few weeks, but I am so passionate when a call is follow her heart back to her family and about the work that we’re doing received by GMP where her career began, making the because it’s going to make a real and the person on move to Manchester. difference. I feel fortunate that I’ve the phone has to Here Donna thrived, making her way come in and can help to build on the decide who to up the ranks, predominately in work that’s already been done. send to see the specialist operations, commanding victim. The Investigation Safeguarding football and other high profile public Review is part of a huge change that is Donna events. Donna Allen (pictured fourth from right) and the Investigation ongoing in GMP to make sure we’re continues: “by Safeguarding Review team

17


What’s On?

Farewell to Chaim Ferster passed away in February 2017. The Force was honoured to host Chaim at FHQ for an event which marked Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January. Chaim survived eight concentration camps and kindly came in to share his story with our officers and staff.

Chaim playing a violin tribute on Holocaust Memorial Day

GMP was saddened by the news that holocaust survivor Chaim Ferster

Chaim is pictured playing his violin, which he took up playing again when he was 92. He had not played since before the war. The music he played was the piece of music he heard the day he was freed.

Caption Competition Well done to Police Sergeant Coralie Bailey at Bolton won the last caption competition.

What’s On? February 10– 26 Moscow State Circus Event city March 3 Manchester Storm vs Cardiff Devils Altrincham Ice Rink

March 10-12 Baby & Toddler Show Event City April

March 4

Crystal Maze Experience

X Factor Live at the MEN

Old Granada studios April 7

GMP includes a "sniffer" course in its training for new recruits after recent cutbacks

March 1

Harlem Globetrotters

Windmill fundraising quiz night

Manchester Arena

Hough End Sports and Social February 26 Manchester United vs City Etihad Stadium

Send your caption suggestions to Brief@gmp.police.uk

March 13-14 Ricky Gervais Live O2 Apollo

18


GRAN CANARIA, Puerto Rico. Newly refurbished apt. Sleeps 4, sea views, south facing, large sun terrace. Great location. Ideal for couples, families, small groups. No price increase in school hols. Call or text 07946 415721 for info

and Jenny Hedley (Ex police officer) Address: Great Gargus, Tregony, Cornwall TR2 5SQ. Tel 01872 530224 or http:// www.moobarncornwall.co.uk/ for more details.

Kitchens

How to Advertise in Brief: Please fill in the Electronic version of the Advertisement Coupon here: www.gmp.police.uk/briefads | All terms and conditions in relation to Adverts are also listed there.

 Robert Boustead, died

08/11/2016, age 85

13/12/2016, Name, age, date of death age 56

 Eric George Bradley, died

16/11/2016, age 74

 Robert Edmund O’Shea, died

LUXURY FLORIDA VILLA. 10 mins to Disney, 5 beds, 3 baths, games room, south facing pool and hot tub. Special GMP rate, exclusive location. Visit www.greenviewsvilla.com or call 0161 973 1822.

21/11/2016, age 72

 Ian Douglas Haig, died

23/11/2016, age 64

 Keith Richard Brenchley-Martin,

died 25/11/2016, age 52

Looking for a new kitchen? The Kitchen Forte is the place to be. Your imagination is our limitation. Our showroom at 123 Cross St, Sale, Cheshire M33 7JN. Kitchen Forte offer a perfect combination of high quality cabinetry alongside an excellent fitting service that is second to none, we offer a one-stop shot and all at very affordable prices at the cutting edge of our industry. Visit www.kitchenforte.co.uk

Maintenance LUXURY CORNWALL BARN, close to beaches, sleeps eight. Moo Barn is located on the unspoiled Roseland Peninsula, comfortably sleeps eight with all rooms ensuite. Sky TV and Wi-fi included. A happy holiday destination for many people since 2004. Spacious and family friendly with a large walled garden and barbeque for long hot summer evenings. Contact: Jeremy

Obituaries

GLYN SIGLEY - All types of plastering and general property maintenance. Over 35 years experience. South Manchester based. 07786 498938 / 0161 498 6550 WELL WORTH PAVING - Block paving concreting, decking, flagging, fencing, turfing. Garage bases/footings. Walling and house drainage. 25 yrs experience - free quotes. Tel: 07974 349271

 Norman Frederick Spelzini,

29/11/2016, age 74

 Ronald Hankin, died 30/11/2016,

age 86

 John Rodney Hughes, died

02/12/2016, age 73

 Mervyn Arthur Edwards, died

03/12/2016, age 67

 Richard Frederick Webb, died

08/12/2016, age 86

 Robert Hewitt Gregory, died

10/12/2016, age 75

 Malcolm Heys, died 11/12/2016,

age 78

 Kevin Turner, died 11/12/2016,

age 66

 Muriel Williams, died 19/12/2016,

age 89

 Cyril Fowler, died 22/12/2016,

Advertisements

Holidays—Abroad

age 86

 Frank David Lees, died

22/12/2016, age 71

 Thomas Henderson McVittie, died

23/12/2016, age 87

 Beryl Seddon, died 31/12/2016,

age 80

 Roy Aubrey Cross, died

04/01/2017, age 89

 Leslie Scholes, died 17/01/2017,

age 85

 John William Carr, died

25/01/2017, age 75

Please note that the information above is provided by HR and this can sometimes mean the list is not completely up-to-date. We also only receive a very limited amount of information on each person and we are restricted to details of officers only.

 John Morrison Sparks,

19


Letters

Letters of Appreciation Sgt Phil Lowe, Officers of the Central and Cheadle Heath LPT, Special Sgt Sophie Rahman “Just a brief note to say thank you for your efforts to eradicate the recent spate of anti-social behaviour in and around Stockport, we have seen things quieten down over the last week or so. The current operation involving PCSOs, Special Constabulary, both covert and uniformed is providing great reassurance to drivers and passengers alike and is clearly having the desired effect and is greatly appreciated by all of us at Stockport Depot” R-Unite Rep Stockport Depot PC Paul Lunt “I feel that now is the right time to give you some ‘customer feedback’. Back in April last year you visited me at my house concerning a complaint. At the time I was upset that you dealt with me in what I felt was a harsh manner. However, I have realised since that you were a God-send, in so far that I followed due procedure through the

20

Magistrates Court and was dealt with fairly. Subsequently I have stopped drinking and cleaned up my life. Thank you for showing me the error of my ways and I hope your future is as bright as mine. Forever in your debt”. DG PCSO Phil Jones “A cause for welfare was raised for a female tenant and her property, which was in a mess. PCSO Jones established a positive relationship with Eileen and social services to ensure a care support package was put in place and made the link with myself to further support her and her tenancy issues. He was sensitive and approachable and he adapted his communication pace to reassure her. Eileen was in a bit of a bad way when we first met her, very low and very sad. She was worried about her home. She felt she wasn’t safe. Phil went out of his way to ensure all the necessary safety products were fitted and working and continued to support her. “Her house has now been cleaned, she has a new sofa and a new bed.

“Eileen is much more positive and has engaged with other members in the community very well. She has been out and about on her own. “I feel this has been an amazing outcome, based on the confidence and relationship New Charter and GMP share.” Mel Kearns, New Charter Housing Trust Group PC Alistair Payne and PC Kevin Ward “I am writing to thank PC Payne and Ward for visiting our small specialist class today. We have been working on safety with our very vulnerable pupils (all of whom have additional needs) and speaking directly to Police officers and asking questions really helps this process. “The officers were very patient, spoke quietly and appeared to have a level of understanding of our children’s needs. The children were talking about the visit all day and seemed to know that the police would help them if they were lost or in trouble.” Patricia Gould, SSC Teacher

Christmas day saviour “I had a serious motor incident at 8pm on Christmas day on the M61. My car was left straddling the nearside two lanes of the unlit motorway in heavy rain after a collision with the barrier. “PC Phil Edgington was the first responder. He expertly dealt with the situation instantly ensuring the safety of myself and motorway users. Although thats whet he is trained to do it was an amazingly swift and professional job in hazardous conditions where he put his life at risk to ensure the safety of myself and others. “Where he went above and beyond the call of duty was ensuring my safe onward journey on a dark wet Christmas day evening. I would appreciate it if he could be recognised for this in some way and my gratitude passed on once again.” DG


IN the first event of its kind, GMP invited members of the local Chinese community to join police officers and staff to celebrate Chinese New Year together. The event, held at FHQ, began with the traditional drums being struck before a welcome from GMP colleagues Umer Khan and Irene Chan. The audience were then given an introduction to the meaning behind Chinese New Year and an explanation of how the event is typically celebrated by Ms May Yau & her daughter Hui Min . The Vice Consul General of China Mr Lia Bo made a speech and talked

of the strong relations between Manchester and China which were acknowledged by the official visit of the President of China last year. He also expressed his hope that the New Year of the Golden Rooster will bring our communities together even more. The attendees were treated to an impressive Lion Dance by a group of children from Fo Guang Shan Temple, Stretford. The lions won everyone over with their moves and even gave oranges to the front row. This was followed by a traditional dance before the transfer of merits, where lucky red packets were given to everyone in the audience. The Deputy Police Crime Commissioner, Lord Mayor of Manchester and CC Ian Hopkins all

talked about how great it was to have the different communities come together and celebrate. CC Hopkins presented all the children with a certificate of appreciation before the Venerable Chueh Ru from BLIA Manchester

gave a prayer, wishing all the GMP family and our communities they very best of health, success and happiness for the future.

GMP Life

Celebrating the Year of the Golden Rooster

GMP sprint to host national triathlon championships GMP is to host the Police Sport UK (PSUK) sprint triathlon championships on Sunday 9 April 2017 at Edge Hill University, Lancashire. The event will be run by Vital events, and is aimed at all abilities. The agenda will include a

400m pool swim, a 20km bike ride and a 5km run through the university campus. Officers from around the country are invited to take part with prizes for both male and female competitors. The event is likely to attract huge interest

with 100+ officers expected to participate. This is an exciting opportunity for GMP to host a national event and encourage as many people to take part as possible. This is one of just seven races in the 2017 PSUK race calendar

- all details for future races can be found on the PSUK website. If you have any enquiries regarding the event, PSUK or the GMP triathlon team please contact Mike Bundy 02319 or Ben Coombs 18241.

21


Sport

A Special rugby star DAN Scanlon played his first match for the Great British Police Rugby team on 28 January. Having started playing rugby at 15 for his local club Bury RUFC, Dan has always loved the sport. Unfortunately he ruptured a disk in his back after a nasty tackle and was advised not to play anymore. Two years and a lot of physio training later, Dan felt confident enough to get back on the field and joined Sedgley park RUFC. After a strong season he got

Dan Scanlon in action

22

in touch with Damieon Pickles to join the Combined Lancs Rugby League team. His debut for the police was in April 2016, playing for Combined Lancs rugby league against the Spanish Custodians in Madrid. After scoring a hat trick on this tour, Dan played in a charity game for awareness against hate crime and the cup final against West Yorkshire Police last year. From this performance, Dan was asked to attend a training camp for the Great Britain Police squad at the start of January. He clearly impressed as Dan was invited to be in the starting 13 to play the Challenge Cup on 28 January at the New River Stadium. Anyone interested in joining the Combined Lancs Rugby League team should contact Damieon Pickles.

Pedal for pounds A MEMBER of GMP staff has decided to join thousands of others participating in the Christie’s Charity Bike Ride from Manchester to Blackpool. In 2013, custody officer Fiona Herd suffered a stroke and was off work for 11 weeks as a result. The event knocked her confidence a bit and her once Sergeant had recently retired. This is where her colleague Sgt Claire Appleton came in. Along with her support and encouragement she joined the gym and took up running as part of her rehabilitation. She started from the bottom jogging slowly on the treadmill and working her ability a little more each week. Her confidence grew and in 2015 just 12 months after she started she completed her first race, the We Love Manchester 10k. Through the continued support of Claire she completed the We Love Manchester 10k for a second time in 2016 with the addition of the Tour of Tameside 10k. After these races Claire suggested

that she try out cycling to ease the impact on her legs. Claire, an avid rider herself invited Fiona out for a ‘casual’ ride last October where they ended up cycling 41 miles. Starting to enjoy the cycling and wondering what challenge she could set herself for 2017, Fiona decided to sign up with Claire for The Christie’s largest cycling event. Fiona commented: “The Christie’s Hospital holds a special place in my heart, they helped me through my recovery and I wanted to give something back. I also just want to thank Claire for the ongoing support it really has helped more then she could imagine.” The event will take place on Sunday 9 July starting at the Imperial War Museum, covering 60 miles of scenic country lanes before finishing in Blackpool. For more information on the ride or how to sponsor the team please contact Fiona (pin 24042) or Claire (pin 12164).


Jo Moody with just some of the medals she has collected

The Discount Guru THE Discount Guru is here to reveal all of the secret discounts and money saving tips that GMP staff are entitled to. Join us in each edition of Brief to see where you could save a few pennies.

receives treatment, and Cash for Merseyside for a second year Kids for which she is a devoted running, a gruelling course of six ambassador. races over seven days. In her own words Joanne says For more information or to offer she owes her recovery to the sport. your support please contact Joanne (pin 11098) directly. “Without running and the running community I probably would not have got to the start line of any of those races. I want to raise awareness that no condition should stop you from doing what you love.” Her hard work continues to pay off and last November Jo was awarded the BTR Running Awards Inspirational Person, an award that is voted for by the public. This year Joanne is planning to improve her speed and get back to where she was fitness wise before her illness. She has signed up already for a number of races including two half marathons, the Wigan 10k as well as training for her first triathlon. On top of all of this she Clocking up the miles: Jo and a colleague has decided to take on the completed the Tour of Merseyside challenge of the Tour of

All public sector workers can receive an exclusive discount of 30% off best available bed and breakfast and 20% off Hampton by Hilton Hotels. The discount is available in over 160 participating locations across the UK, Ireland and Europe.

2. Alternatively if you are booking through www.hilton.com select the time and dates, then proceed, it will then bring up a number of rate options select GOVERNMENT rate for the discount to be applied. You will need to provide proof of the organisation you work for upon check in.

How to book 1. Visit www.hiltonpublicsector.co.uk where the rates are already calculated for you

If you have any money saving tips please email them to brief@gmp.police.uk

30% off hotel stays

GMP Life

Back on track

PC Joanne Moody was an avid runner and loved nothing more than relaxing on an open road. Unfortunately Joanne suffered a brain injury a couple of years back that stopped her in her tracks. She now suffers with a rare brain lesion condition that falls under the Wallenberg syndrome. After the injury Joanne was left with symptoms similar to a stroke and that’s where the long road to recovery began. She was determined to get back to her old self and refused to let her condition restrict her. Last year she ran over 210 miles of races including two marathons and a 52 mile Tour of Merseyside to raise funds for both the Walton Nuero where she regularly

23


ofaback collage, use this GMPExampe have had busypage couple of months with summarise pics order the new section recruits to being attested,the prison training, Crime Awareness week and For moreHate images of GMP, visit our Flickr site events such as Chinese New Year and the Holocaust Memorial Day.

24


Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.