Isle of Wight Area Commander’s Awards recognise officers and staff that demonstrate the core values of delivering exceptional local policing.

On Thursday 19 October Superintendent Rob Mitchell was joined at Newport Congregational Church by Chief Constable Scott Chilton, His Majesty’s Vice Lord Lt, Brigadier Maurice Sheen, and High Sheriff for the Isle of Wight Mrs Dawn Haig-Thomas, to recognise the achievements of officers and staff who have delivered exceptional local policing on the Isle of Wight.

A total of 24 officers, four members of police staff, and three members of the public were recognised across a variety of ranks and roles for awards including long service awards, Chief Constable Commendations, and Area Commander Certificates. The reciepients ranged from those that had demonstrated the relentless pursuit of criminals on the frontline, to those circumstances where exceptional local policing was supported and victims of crime were put at the heart of our work.

Isle of Wight College was recognised for the support it had provided to the Police Cadets on the Island, and The Fighting Cocks was thanked for the welfare support it had provided to multi-agency training exercises and police operations where meals and other services were required for those working long hours.

Speaking after the ceremony, Chief Constable Scott Chilton said: “I’m so proud of all the officers and staff that have received awards for some breathtaking acts of bravery and brilliant police work. It’s about keeping people safe and making people feel safe. All the awards have been incredible and reflect our three priorities in terms of delivering brilliant local policing, making sure that we put victims first, and relentlessly pursuing criminals. What I’ve seen today is some amazing work that lets me know that the communities of the Island are safe with this brilliant police force. It was a real priviledge to hand out awards tonight”.

Superintendent Rob Mitchell added: “This is the second set of awards I’ve hosted since becoming Area Commander for the Island ten months ago. It never ceases to amaze me the range of good work that happens here. We’ve had trained armed response officers, PCSO’s, trainee detectives, new in service constables, and a member of police staff helping colleagues with IT issues, all being recognised tonight. We’ve also had the police cadets here, who are fantastic ambassadors and a great representation of the Island’s youth who also undertake public service. It was a great evening”.

Case studies

Chief Constable Commendation – Insp Adam Henderson-Parish.

On 4 September 2020, during the Covid 19 pandemic Insp Adam Henderson-Parish was called to an incident on the south of the Island and he located a man experiencing a serious medical episode. Insp Henderson-Parish and a member of the public quickly established that the man’s breathing was laboured and his pulse was weak. Insp Henderson-Parish requested that the member of the public locate the nearby public defibrillator fearing the man may go into cardiac arrest. After attaching the defibrillator Insp Henderson-Parish carried out CPR until an ambulance arrived. The man subsequently made a full recovery, however he may have died had CPR not been administered when it was. Insp Henderson-Parish has subsequently highlighted this incident to launch a trial for some police vehicles on the Island to carry defibrillator equipment in conjunction with Isle of Wight Ambulance Service. Insp Henderson-Parish was awarded the Chief Constable’s Commendation for his professionalism, quick reaction and for lifesaving skills performing CPR on a man who had lost consciousness.

Insp Henderson-Parish said: “We get calls to lots of things such as ongoing incidents, but we also get concern for welfare calls. Sometimes we are there before the ambulance service because we just happen to be in an area where the call has come from. Our job is to preserve and and save life, which is what happened on that evening. It’s lovely to be recognised. We all do our day job because that’s what we love to do. When we do something like saving a life, it’s lovely that it’s recognised at events like this on the Island”.

Area Commanders Certificate – PC Simon O’Dea.

On the afternoon of Thursday 15 June 2022, PC Simon O’Dea was off duty on his way into work. He was riding his bicycle in a remote rural location on the Island when he spotted a group of people he recognised. One individual was seen in possession of what looked like a black self-loading pistol – at this time the viability of the weapon was unknown. Without any Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and acting selflessly with concern for the safety of members of the public PC O’Dea challenged the man and secured the weapon. After he managed to get a call into the control room, a member of the man’s family became involved and PC O’Dea used excellent communication skills to de-escalate the situation until his colleagues arrived. The gun was later identified as an air weapon, but was clearly being carried for the wrong reasons. The suspect pled guilty after being charged and was given a referral order. PC O’Dea was awarded an Area Commanders Certificate for his courage, selfless actions and dedication when confronting a man carrying a weapon.

PC O’Dea said: “As I cycled up I thought “what am I going to do?” I couldn’t just leave him there with that (the weapon), because I was concerned as to what he was going to do based on who he was. So I took the opportunity to speak to him, take hold of the weapon before he realised who I may have been, and continued to speak to him for as long as I could to convince him that he was going to stay with me until my colleagues arrived. All the awards this evening have been impressive and involve a lot of people I’ve known for a long time. It’s really nice to be recognised and see the Chief Constable here when I received my certificate”.