Group who pinned Lincoln robber honoured among policing heroes
Brave and exceptional Lincolnshire Police staff, volunteers and members of the public were honoured at a special awards ceremony last night. From a good samaritan who was stabbed while detaining a robber in Lincoln to a ‘coppers’ copper’, and a volunteer who helps victims of crime, the group were recognised for going above and beyond…
Brave and exceptional Lincolnshire Police staff, volunteers and members of the public were honoured at a special awards ceremony last night.
From a good samaritan who was stabbed while detaining a robber in Lincoln to a ‘coppers’ copper’, and a volunteer who helps victims of crime, the group were recognised for going above and beyond at the force’s Annual Recognition Awards.
Lincolnshire Police Chief Constable Bill Skelly. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Lincolnshire Police Chief Constable Bill Skelly said when opening the event on the evening of Thursday, October 27: “The awards to be presented here represent the importance of dedication to duty, exceptional performance and professionalism of the police officers, both police and partner staff, volunteers of this force and members of the public.”
The evening was also attended by Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones, Deputy Lieutenant of Lincolnshire John Lockwood MBE, who also acted as presenting officer, and the family of PC Stacey Pyke, who was tragically killed shortly into her service as a police officer.
Meet the recipients
Citizen of the Year Award and Public Appreciation Certificates: Four members of the public (who did not wish to be named)
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
On Tuesday 11 April 2017 a 70-year-old woman called into Barclays Bank on Tritton
Road, Lincoln, with a small bag containing cash collected from charity boxes for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
As she entered the bank a man approached her from behind and grabbed the bag and the woman fell to the floor sustaining injuries to her ribs and face.
‘Mr A’ was in the bank at the time and heard screams for help. He looked toward the doorway and saw the elderly woman being assaulted and falling to the floor.
As the attacker ran from the scene, having stolen the bag of cash, Mr A ran out of the building and pursued him, eventually tackling him to the ground where a struggle ensued.
Mr A was joined by his wife who tried to help her husband as the man shouted that he had a knife and threatened to stab Mr A.
The man then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the hand five times.
Another man, ‘Mr B’, who witnessed the man being detained on the floor went to assist and managed to stand on the man’s wrist and prise the knife from his hand.
A woman, ‘Ms C’, who was in her car outside the bank at the time, witnessed the lady in the bank being pulled to the floor in the scuffle and the man running away.
She got out of her vehicle and ran to help, she saw the knife on the floor and moved it away and out of arms’ reach from the man who was being restrained.
These four members of the public eventually managed to restrain the man until the police arrived and made an arrest.
The man was subsequently charged and convicted of robbery and wounding.
Police said: “As a result of their courage, tenacity and sense of public duty that day, a violent, repeat- offender, who carried out a sickening crime on a vulnerable and elderly woman, was apprehended and imprisoned for a total of nine and a half years.”
Special Constabulary Officer of the Year: Special Sergeant (now S/Insp) Christopher Gow
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The force recognised Christopher as a highly regarded figure in the force.
He has arranged training and support for officers county wide and supported officers through their own personal development, all of which he takes above and beyond the expectations of his line managers.
Stacey Pyke Award for Student Officer of the Year: Constable David Revitt
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The force said: “David Revitt is an outstanding student officer who shows maturity and professionalism that far exceeds his level of service.”
David descried one of his first convictions for “revenge porn” in the county, which was regarded as a complex investigation.
Copper’s Copper: Constable Dawn Young
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The winner of this award is nominated by their peers. The force quotes some of the reasons given for her nomination, including: “She is one of the first to arrive for shift and almost always the last to leave”, and “she is relentless, and doest give up nor let go of the suspect – no matter what”.
Above and Beyond Award: Emma Jackson
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Emma was honoured for her role in Operation Pottery, one of the largest and most complex investigations into modern slavery and fraud that Lincolnshire Police has ever managed.
Emma played an integral role in the production of bundles of evidence, working to high quality and tight timescales.
Volunteer of the Year: Lynn Chantrey. Lynn was also awarded the Chief Constable’s Overall Annual Recognition Award
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The force described Lynn as “the glue that holds us all together.
They added during the presentation: “Without Lynn’s contribution to Op REVIVE we wouldn’t have been able to work with so many volunteers and in turn give the enhanced and tailored support to so many vulnerable victims of crime in the community.”
Outstanding Professionalism: Op Floyd team: Sergeant Rachel Blackwell, Constable Ian Freeman, Detective Sergeant Jennifer Lovatt
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Sergeant Rachel Blackwel played a crucial role in assessing community intelligence gathering in connection with a series of thefts of antiques and investment fraud in Stamford. The estimated loss to the victims of these offences totalled approximately £200,000.
PRIDE Award of the Year: Sergeant Paul Wills
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Paul manages the portfolio of bi-lingual volunteers who are assisting police in the Boston and South Holland area, where there is a diverse community.
The force added: “Paul has attended a number of community events, met with local community action groups and also the local MP. There is now a possibility of employing community connectors who will give out advice on things such as housing, schooling and reporting incidents to the police.”
Award for Outstanding Contribution to Public Service: Constable Rizwaan Chothia
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Constable Rizwaan Chothia is an essential part of the local effort to deliver the Prevent agenda in Lincolnshire which aims to prevent the radicalisation of vulnerable individuals who may be on a path to violent extremism.
Over the past year, Rizwaan’s passion, dedication and work ethic have yielded impressive results in embedding the core messages behind Prevent into the community. Following the adoption of the statutory Prevent duty within the education sector Rizwaan delivered over 250 Prevent training sessions into schools, colleges and universities.
Making a Difference Award: Victim Lincs Team: Olga Babiak, Jess Collings, Emma Fillingham, Hannah Gosling, Sabiha Kathrada, Izabella Kiss, Emily Luxton, Barney Porter
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
In late 2015 Lincolnshire Police were seeing satisfaction levels in victims of crime at 67% in terms of how satisfied victims were with our service.
In October 2015 the Victim Lincs team started work and from the very start, improvements were seen in levels of satisfaction for victims, with increased numbers of contacts for victims, better referrals to Victim Support and increased levels of updates to victims about the cases they had reported.
The team was the first of its kind in Lincolnshire, providing a single point of contact for victims, allowing them to contact case workers directly to ask about their case or seek information from Officers about case progress.
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It has been a tragic week with three deaths on Lincolnshire’s roads after two male motorbike riders and a man on a pedal bike lost their lives.
The roads are now busier again after further lockdown restrictions were eased on April 12, but since then three men have sadly died.
A man died after falling from his pedal bike in Branston on Wednesday, April 14 and police said his death is not being treated as suspicious.
On the same day, a 34-year-old male died after a crash involving two motorcycles near Gainsborough.
The man who lost his life in the collision was riding a silver Wuyang motorcycle. The second motorcycle was a blue Suzuki being ridden by a man in his 30s, who was taken to hospital with suspected serious injuries.
A 54-year-old man from North Lincolnshire also died after his motorbike crashed with a Royal Mail post van on the A631 near Glentham at around 4pm on Thursday, April 15.
This comes after it was revealed on March 11 that for the first time in over three decades nobody had died on the county’s roads in the first months of the year, according to Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership.
Lincolnshire Police revealed earlier this week that between 2018 and 2020 twenty five motorcyclists lost their lives on Lincolnshire’s roads.
There have been 285 coronavirus cases in Greater Lincolnshire and eight COVID-related deaths so far this week – a 7% drop in cases and one less death from the previous week.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard on Friday recorded 32 new cases in Lincolnshire, eight in North Lincolnshire and three in North East Lincolnshire.
On April 16, three deaths were registered in Lincolnshire and none in Northern Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.
NHS England reported two hospitals this week so far, compared to none this time last week.
On Friday, national cases increased by 2,596 to 4,383,732, while deaths rose by 34 to 127,225.
In local news, Lincolnshire health bosses expect COVID-19 cases to rise in our region as lockdown is eased, but are optimistic that if numbers are kept low enough, then people will be free to enjoy the summer.
Andy Fox, Deputy Director of Public Health at Lincolnshire County Council, said the lifting of coronavirus restrictions this week had not caused any specific concerns yet.
Since Wednesday, Greater Lincolnshire has again seen a decrease in its infection rates overall, against an increase nationally.
All districts have seen a fall in their rates, except small increases in North Lincolnshire and South Holland. Lincoln has stayed the same and has the lowest rate in the region.
Boston has the highest infection rate of COVID-19 in Greater Lincolnshire and is ranked 9th in the UK.
Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates up to April 16:
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates from Apr 9 to Apr 16. | Data: Gov UK / Table: James Mayer for The Lincolnite
England’s R number has dropped slightly to between 0.7 and 1 according to the latest data this week. This means for every 10 people infected with COVID-19, they will pass it on to between seven and 10 others.
The new Indian variant of the COVID virus that’s been detected in the UK has all the hallmarks of a very dangerous virus.
It has two new significant mutations in the spike protein that help it infect cells and evade the immune system.
People are “likely” to need a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine within 12 months of getting the first two, Pfizer’s chief executive has said.
Dr Albert Bourla said a booster jab could be necessary “somewhere between six and 12 months” after the second one – and every year thereafter.
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Friday, April 16
Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East (Northern) Lincolnshire.
58,919 cases (up 43)
41,028 in Lincolnshire (up 32)
9,275 in North Lincolnshire (up eight)
8,616 in North East Lincolnshire (up three)
2,185 deaths (up three)
1,613 from Lincolnshire (up three)
304 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
268 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)
of which 1,302 hospital deaths (no change)
810 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)
41 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
450 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)
4,383,732 UK cases, 127,225 deaths
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF the latest update. postcode data includes deaths not in healthcare facilities or in hospitals outside authority boundaries.
Plans to demolish part of a former play centre and Chinese takeaway to build 41 new student flats, have been submitted to the City of Lincoln Council.
Killingbeck PLG has applied for permission to demolish “most” of the existing facade of the former home of Imagination Station and Big Wok, on Beaumont Fee, and rebuild it as part of the development.
The main hall, a warehouse and a recently built “link block” to the rear of the building will also be demolished, and will be completely replaced with a new extension.
In documents to the council, the applicant describes how the 41”study bedrooms” will be en-suite and open off a central circulation area.
The build will form part of the Iconinc post-graduate residential units development next door and will sit opposite the Park Court student accommodation on Park Street.
It will include 12 apartments on the ground floor, 11 at first and second floor and seven units on the third floor.
How the build could look.
The application said: “There is a clear need for good quality, post-graduate, city centre, residential accommodation and the economic case for the redevelopment of the site is reinforced by the fact the site can be linked with the new Iconic development so amenities can be shared.
“The demolition of the existing property and the proposed redevelopment will bring positive benefits to the area economically and aesthetically.”
As part of the build, residents will gain shared access to existing facilities including the gym.