REPRESENTING GMP AT THE NATIONAL BRAVERY AWARDS

Police Constable Paul Spinks says that he will never forget the day he chatted with the Home Secretary in the famous garden of Number 10 Downing Street before representing GMP at the Police Bravery Awards

The Neighbourhood Policing Officer in our Trafford district was shortlisted for the national awards for his outstanding act of courage in tackling and disarming a man waving a machete outside a school in Salford during term time. He was off duty that day, and so was in plain clothes and was not wearing body armour.

All those shortlisted were invited to the Prime Minister’s home to enjoy brunch before attending a glamorous presentation eventing hosted by the Police Federation of England and Wales at the Royal Lancaster Hotel.

It was the second time in two months that PC Spinks had been invited to London in reward for his heroics, with him having been chosen to be a ceremonial officer outside Buckingham Palace for King Charles’ Coronation.

He was pinching himself that day, and he was pinching himself even harder when he walked through the doors of 10 Downing Street.

PC Spinks said: “Going into the Prime Minister’s home and talking to Home Secretary Suella Braverman in the famous garden was simply amazing.

“It was a surreal experience chatting to her. When you see Government leaders on TV, you never think you’ll ever get the chance to talk to them in person.

“She spoke about the seven per cent pay rise for police officers and about how she was teary eyed when she heard the stories of what all the officers there had done to be nominated for the Police Bravery Awards.

“I knew a lot of them from the King’s Coronation, where we had already built up friendships. As a group having our photograph taken together in the garden of Number 10, we all said that ‘irrespective of who wins the awards, we were all nominated and we are all winners for the jobs we do for policing and the public’.

“As it turned out, I was not one of the ones who picked up an award that night.

“Nevertheless, Thursday 13 July 2023 is a date that I will never forget. After enjoying a brilliant brunch in one of the most important addresses in the country, I had an equally good time at the glamorous awards ceremony, hearing the acts of heroism of my fellow nominees.

“There were around 400 people there, including all Chief Constables and national Federation leads and representatives.

“I felt incredibly proud to be representing GMP at the awards, and had the pleasure of talking to our Chief Constable Stephen Watson, who was sat at our table.

“I took my wife Cheryl to London with me, and I think she enjoyed the day and felt even more proud than I did.

“The only disappointment of the day was that we didn’t get to meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as he was in Westminster speaking about the Nato summit in Lithuania.”

PC Spinks may have missed out on a Police Bravery Award, but he did win the Emergency Services category at the 2023 Pride of Greater Manchester Awards.

As such, he has automatically been put forward for this year’s Pride of Britain Awards.

PC Spinks has also been presented with the annual John Egerton Trophy for bravery by Chief Constable Watson this year.

Raising money for parental support

The Child Sexual Exploitation Team in Tameside have been working at improving their own wellbeing and also the wellbeing of the victims they support.

The team recently held a bake sale and raised over £100 for Parents Against Child Exploitation (PACE) UK.

They are hoping to do something every month to raise money for the charity, which provides support and advice to the parents of children who have been exploited.

The team are also building an online parent pack for victims of CSE crime in Tameside, including signposting to PACE UK.

Coming up in August

August will see the wellbeing calendar focus on our informal support groups. There are several groups across the force, all providing invaluable peer support and the opportunity to speak with others in similar situations.

Details of GMP’s support groups can be found on the Wellbeing pages of the intranet and from the points of contact detailed on them.

If you are interested in setting up an informal support group, please email wellbeingvolunteercoordinators@ gmp.police.uk.

Wellbeing on Tour success

The Wellbeing Team recently visited 10 districts and branches over 10 days, alongside internal and external partners.

GMP’s third Wellbeing on Tour was an opportunity to speak with colleagues and raise awareness of the support that is available.

It was a great two weeks, and the number of people who engaged with the tour surpassed 1,000, which is the highest number so far.

A huge thank you to everyone who supported and/or engaged with the tour.

The aim now is for the tour to continue to grow and raise more awareness every year.

Awareness days in August

August is National Immunisation Awareness Month, National Road Victim Month and Psoriasis Action Month.

The month also sees a number of awareness days, including:

• Cycle to Work Day: Thursday 3 August

• National Dog Day: Saturday 26 August