PCC presents Volunteer and Special Constable of the year awards for outstanding professionalism and commitment

Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson presented awards to his chosen Volunteer of the Year and Special Police Constable of the Year at Wiltshire Police’s Force Award ceremony this week. 

The Force Awards event recognises and celebrates the efforts those officers, staff, volunteers and members of the public, who have gone above and beyond to ensure the safety of Wiltshire’s residents. 

The PCC’s Volunteer of the Year Award was presented to Reverend Barry Davis from Amesbury Baptist Church. He is a very popular personality in Amesbury Police Station and knows all the staff, many by name, and officers even speak to him for advice and support following traumatic incidents. Barry brings food and drink for the officers on a weekly basis which is always well received, often even cooking them A full English Breakfast from his kitchen and inviting officers to visit when on patrol. 

Barry gives his time freely and visits members of vulnerable communities regularly. He provides a foodbank for those in need which he maintains at his church and even takes food out to those with mobility or transport issues.  

Recently a serious fire took hold in a housing association flat in Amesbury. Barry was instrumental in providing emergency food, drink, accommodation and support to the many families displaced which he continues to provide to this day.  

Mr Wilkinson’s Special Police Constable of the Year Award was presented to SPC Natalie Fisher, who has been with Wiltshire Police for 4 years and prior to that, was an SPC in Hampshire for 15 years.   

Natalie first became an SPC after a negative experience with the police when she was younger after her mother committed suicide. As a result of this, Natalie decided to become an SPC to stop others going through the same experience, and to provide the care she wished she had received. 

Natalie has since gone far beyond this by attending suicides and dealing with relatives, as well as comforting families through the most traumatic incidents, all whilst also working full time as a Midwife Assistant in Winchester Maternity Unit. 

Mr Wilkinson said: “I express my gratitude to both Reverend Barry Davis and SPC Natalie Fisher, as well as all other award recipients as the standards they illustrate within their work serve as a benchmark for our entire organisation. 

“I am confident that their professionalism, dedication and unwavering commitment to upholding public service’s core values will enhance public trust in our work to improving Wiltshire Police as a workforce, and in turn making Wiltshire a safer place to live and work. 

“The awards come at a momentous time for Wiltshire Police as we launch the Chief Constable’s new targeted operation model with neighbourhood teams providing more visible, neighbourhood-focused, policing. 

“My newly-launched Estates Strategy sets out this vision. I believe Wiltshire Police will be better equipped to provide the policing service our communities want if they have the infrastructure which supports them to respond more effectively and efficiently.”    

You can read Mr Wilkinson’s full Estate Strategy here. 

Published Friday 2 February 2024