Grapevine Autumn 2010 Cover section:Layout 1 28/9/10 08:03 ... · close to her heart. Read more on...

Grapevine Autumn 2010 Cover section:Layout 1 28/9/10 08:03 Page 1


GRAPEVINE Autumn 2010

Guest Editor: Chief Superintendent Gill Donnell email: [email protected]

Grapevine is produced by the British Associationfor Women in Policing.

Tel: 0844 414 0448email: [email protected]

Assistant Editor: Nicky Phillipsonemail: [email protected]

Design and production: Brookhill Design Studio LimitedTel: 01438 722710email: [email protected]

Copy deadline for Winter issue is November 3, 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the permission of the BAWP.

Welcome to the latestedition of Grapevine packedwith truely inspirationalstories from women aroundthe country. Read all aboutthe incredible work of PCJanet Humphrey, who wonthe Excellence inPerformance award at thisyear's BAWP Awards for her commitment tohelping Suffolk sex-workers turn around theirlives, go to page 8 for this feature.

This is an historical edition too as we say goodbye to ourPresident Julie Spence and also give a really warmwelcome to Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick as shetakes over from Julie. Read about Cressida's career and herview on her new role on page 2. We look forward toCressida's future contributions 'From the President's Desk'.

In June, many of us on the committee marked Julie'sretirement from both BAWP after 10 amazing years as ourPresident, as well as 32 years in policing, with a dinner inHuntingdon, where in addition to her retirement gift, adonation in Julie's name was made to a Kenyan charityclose to her heart. Read more on pages 12-13 as well as onthe charity website at www.ol-lentilletrust.org/

Do keep an eye out for the next edition which will havefull details of our Personal Development Day in October.Finally can I send all of our best wishes to Kim Madill onthe birth of her second son Reuben, we look forward towelcoming Kim back from maternity leave soon.

If you have a story for Grapevine in the coming monthsplease email [email protected]

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2011

Senior Women in Policing Conference –De Vere Dunston Hall Hotel, Norwich.March 14 -16. www.swipconference.com

IAWP Annual Training Conference. Lexington, Kentucky.August 21-25. www.iawp2011.org/

NEWS

FEATURES

FROM THE EDITOR

New president appointed 2

Funding cuts hit BAWP 3

Training becomes daily in West Mercia 4

Uniform suppliers guide published 5

Merseyside Women’s Network 6

Health: City Police host cancer seminars 7

In the Spotlight Jane McHugh tells Grapevine about her three careers

Cover story: Retired officer Suzanne Williams talks about life after the service

Tackling guns through drama

BAWP says good bye and good luck to Julie Spence

Volunteering in India and IAWP News

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12

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Suffolk’s Sex Workers BAWP award winner Janet Humphrey explains what is being done to encourage sex workers to leave their lives on the streets behind.

Membership details 16

2010

The Emergency Services Show 2010 The UK’s onlyevent for anyone involved in emergency planning,response or recovery – Stoneleigh Park, Coventry.Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25 November.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Grapevine Autumn 2010:Layout 1 28/9/10 08:10 Page 1

NEWS2

METROPOLITAN Police AssistantCommissioner, Cressida Dick isBAWP’s new president. She tookover from Cambridgeshire ChiefConstable Julie Spence in October,who has led the association for thepast ten years.

The decision to appoint Cressida hasbeen praised by Julie, who retired from theservice after 32 years. She said: “‘Women inpolicing have come a long way in the last10 years but, as we enter a new era, Icannot think of a better person thanCressida to ensure women’s voices areheard and properly valued in the future.

“Policing is complex and needs differentvoices to ensure balanced thoughtfuldecisions are made. The challenge is toensure the doors are opened to thoseplaces where the key decisions are made.”

Cressida first joined the Met in 1983serving as a constable, sergeant andinspector. In 1995 she transferred toThames Valley Police as Superintendent of

Operations at Oxford and subsequentlyspent three years as area commander inthe city.

After returning to the MPS in 2001,Cressida spent four years in the SpecialistCrime Directorate with responsibility fororganised and cross-border crime. She thentrained as a hostage negotiator in 1998 and

is currently the UK police lead for hostagenegotiation.

She also held posts as the director of theMet’s Diversity Directorate and head of theRacial and Violent Crime Task Force for twoyears between 2001 and 2003.

In 2007 Cressida was promoted toDeputy Assistant Commissioner and movedto Specialist Operations in charge ofprotection and security in London. Last yearshe was promoted to AssistantCommissioner for the Met’s SpecialistCrime Directorate.

Cressida says she is privileged to betaking on her new role with BAWP.“Women make a very importantcontribution to the world of policing. I hopethat I can continue to support police andstaff to develop and contribute as much aspossible to the Service.” 95 The regular ‘From the President’s Desk’

will return next issue. 5 See pages 12 and 13 for feature on Julie

Spence.

Cressida set to lead BAWP

IRELAND’S top two female police officerscame together at Hillsborough Castle,County Down, in June to head up the thirdannual networking event for officers andstaff from their forces.

The Deputy Chief Constable of the Police Service ofNorthern Ireland Judith Gillespie (right) and An GardaSiochana Assistant Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan,joined more than 120 women tolook at issues facing bothservices. The day includedinteractive sessionsled by the PSNI SeniorOccupationalPsychologistYvonne Cooke.They werebased aroundwhat policingwill look like inthe future. 9

Irish women look to future policing



3NEWS


Skills to help change mindsetSouth Wales Police has enlisted thehelp of NLP World to train 12 of theirofficers in the techniques of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).

The course was put on to help theofficers through promotion interviews,while also training them to becomecoaches and mentors themselves.

Detective Inspector Nicky Flower,who organised the course, says theplan is that these officers will be ableto help their colleagues in the future.“This relinquishes the need for furtheroutside training and saves the forcemoney,” she said.

The feedback from the training hasbeen positive, says NLP WorldDirector Terry Elston. “Both personaland work related breakthroughsoccurred over the five days andbeyond,” he said.

DC Fiona White said: “The coursehas totally exceeded my expectations– at no point did I expect to changemy past….I literally feel like I havetime travelled back to when I wasvery small and relived my life again –changing all the negative thoughtsand beliefs….everyone thinks I’ve gonemad when I tell them but it’s true. Idon’t remember a time when I felt sogood about my life.”

DC Andy Lancaster added: “I canhonestly say that having little priorknowledge of NLP I didn’t really haveany expectations of the course. I’mpleased to say that it was verymotivational. I found out today that Ihave passed the first of my twopromotion boards, and in quite a style,too, according to my initial feedback.”

5 NPL techniques teach you toimprove how you think, behave andfeel and to manage your thoughts,moods and behaviours moreeffectively. It has been dubbed‘technology of the mind’ and is basedupon the search for and the study ofthe factors which account for eithersuccess or failure in humanperformance.

INBRIEF

Funding cuts wide-reachingWITH details of the ComprehensiveSpending Review looming, forcesacross the country are radically re-thinking the way they deliverpolicing.

Many forces have already made membersof police staff redundant, halted spendingplans and pulled funds from multi-agencyprojects.

On Wednesday October 20 theGovernment will reveal its spending plansfor the years 2011-12 to 2014-15 followinga period of consultation with stakeholders.

Budget cuts have already been deep withall forces and associated organisationsfinding their budgets slashed.

BAWP hasn’t been spared and has alreadylost 40 per cent of its annual grant – a totalof £41,800.

National co-ordinator Tracey Moynihansays it has meant she has had to take a long

hard look at what events the association canattend and support. “We have postponed allresearch we were looking at funding thisyear, and are looking more carefully atevents we are asked to attend.

“However we are still working on a newthree-year strategy and we will continue todo all we can to ensure gender issues remainhigh on the police service’s agenda.”

While this year’s planned professionaldevelopment day will go ahead, cheapervenues are already being sourced for futureevents.

Tracey added: “I am hugely concernedthat the cuts will mean many great womenwill be lost from the police service. I amencouraging force network leads to look at ways to support women practically with CV writing and mock interviewsessions where forces aren’t able to providethem.” 9

POLICE, CAMERA, ACTION

Ever wondered what it would belike being interrogated on TV orradio by a journalist eager for hisworld scoop? These BAWPmembers were put through theirpaces on how to deal with themedia and come across well infront of the camera andmicrophone when they went on theassociation’s first media trainingcourse.

The one-day course is a new personaldevelopment service for BAWP members and,at the rate of £100 for the day (includinglunch), has been designed to be affordable toindividuals who might not normally have theopportunity for media training. The course onhow to answer those tricky, searchingquestions, would also benefit those attendingjob interview panels.

It is run by Chris Lillicrap, who specialises inpolice media training. “As he is soknowledgeable on police and criminal justicematters, he is quick to ask those difficultquestions designed to trip you up,” says JackieJones, who organised the session. “He teachesyou how to look good, sound authoritativeand perform well on camera as well asshowing you the techniques on how to comeacross and answer questions on radio.”

Pictured at the first course on September 3at Sunley Management Centre,Northampton, are from left: Insp NicolaBurston (Essex), DCI Caroline Evely(Wiltshire), Chris Lillicrap, and Irene Curtis,Vice President of the Police Superintendents’Association of England and Wales.

Anyone interested in attending possiblefuture media training courses, shouldcontact Jackie Jones at [email protected]. 9


Six Scottish forcesunite for conference THE Scottish Women’s DevelopmentForum will be urging delegates at theirsixth annual conference to ‘release theleader within them’.

Speakers include chief constables, QCs,and a female prison director Audrey Park,who will discuss leadership in a male-dominated environment.

Workshops will look at womenencouraging each other, emotionalintelligence, leadership andtemperament style and team building.

The event, which is being heldNovember 19 and 20th, is at theScottish Police College. The WDF(Scotland) Annual awards, which mirrorthe BAWP Awards and recognise those inthe Scottish Police Service, will be givenout at a networking dinner on the eve ofthe conference. Contact: [email protected] for more information or to register.

Cambs staff supporteach otherSTAFF in Cambridgeshire got a chance tosupport colleagues with second incomesat a shopping event organised by thewomen’s network.

Stalls selling candles, beauty productsand services and a clothing exchangewere set up at an evening especially forfemale staff.

Each stall was run by a force employeewith a second work interest – forexample selling Virgin Vie or Avon products.

Chief Inspector Karry-Ann Beeby saidit was great to show how everyone cansupport each other during what aredifficult times, and have some fun at thesame time.

NEWS4


COMMUNICATION with eachother, with victims and the generalpublic was on the agenda ofStaffordshire Police’s ProfessionalDevelopment Day.

Zoe Billingham, from Her Majesty’sInspectorate of Constabulary, credited goodcommunication to her personal careersuccess; while Mike Alderson from OpenEye Communications showed how policeforces can use social media to

communicate effectively with their public. The line up also included

Psychotherapist Zoe Loddrick who gave the200 plus police, business and agencydelegates an insight into why victims ofsexual violence do what they do, and howwe should be listening to what they aretelling us.

British Explorer Hannah McKeand endedthe event with details of her world recordattempt to reach the South Pole. 9

INBRIEF

STAFF in the West Mercia PoliceControl Centre are beingencouraged to see every day as a training day.

Using bespoke ten-minute interactivepackages, which are accessed through theNPIA hosted NCALT (National Centre forApplied Learning Technologies) online, staffcan refresh themselves on day-to-dayworking practices such as how to deal withdangerous driving.

The system can even be accessed fromhome to make it easier for part-time staffand those with children to care for. It alsomeans staff with individual requirements –such as finding certain colours easier to readcan use their own computers to takeadvantage of the training.

The packages, which are based on one-page working practices, have been puttogether by the force’s IT training designteam who worked alongside the ContactManagement Training and DevelopmentManager Penny Curtis.

She said: “It’s about changing the attitudeto training from being one-off days out ofthe centre, to a part of everyday life. Thefirst package has now been launched ondangerous driving. It will be followed by oneon kidnap and extortion, which is thankfullyvery rare. However if such an incident wasto happen I am confident the training willhave enhanced the knowledge of all ourstaff to ensure that we continue to deliver aquality service for our communities.” 9

Training becomes part of daily life

Making time for dialogue

Mike Alderson

Penny Curtis



5

BAWP publishes guide of female uniform suppliers

A 20-page guide to suppliers offemale police uniforms has beenpublished by BAWP as part of itson-going campaign to get anational uniform based onstandardised dress in time for the 2012 Olympics.

The magazine gives details ofmanufacturers and suppliers who canprovide forces with clothing speciallymade for female officers ranging fromprotective jackets and trousers, anoraks,public order uniforms, hats, boots andshoes plus maternity garments.

“Everyone accepts police officers need auniform which is practical, comfortableand enables them to perform their rolessafely and effectively,” says Claire Armes,an Inspector with Devon andCornwall Policewho is a BAWPcommitteemember leadingon uniforms.“However, untilrecently there wereonly two notabledifferences betweenmale and femaleuniforms – headwearand cravats.

“Thousands offemale officers acrossthe country have towear modified maleuniforms which areneither comfortable norpractical. This is a situation I am only toofamiliar with having finally received a pair offemale specific trousers last year after tenyears of waiting and what a difference theymake,” said Claire.

Earlier in 2010, many female policeofficers wrote into Police Review magazinecomplaining about their uniform and thefact it did not fit properly. Female officerswere simply wearing men’s clothes.

Many forces have nowrecognised the supply ofunisex clothing for a femaleofficer, primarily designed fora male, is neither acceptablenor appropriate. Theuniform guide points themtowards what garmentsare now availabledesigned specifically for

women with their needs in mind.The answer, writes Claire in the uniform

guide, is not to have a different uniform forwomen but to ensure the provision ofuniformed clothing which enables femaleofficers to work comfortably and effectively.

She says: “There is, now more than ever, areal and pressing need to ensure theuniform we wear is fit for purpose – one sizedoes not fit all. There is a real challengeahead for forces and procurementdepartments to get it right and provide

women with a uniform that is professional,smart and crucially fit for purpose.

“A national uniform or standardisedmode of dress would undoubtedly enhancethe professional image of the Police service,maximise visibility and in turn increasepublic confidence in the service provided.”

One contributor to the guide who worksfor Bristol Uniforms, designer andmanufacturer of specialist personalprotective equipment, described the guideas ‘most informative’ and a value toprocurement sections of police forces acrossthe country.

Said Richard Storey: “Let us all hope thatthe document is successful in its primarypurpose – that of raising awareness of theneed for clothing for women worn in thecourse of the policing duties to be takenmore seriously, and that more and moreclothing is specifically shaped and sized forwomen rather than being adapted frommale sizings.” 9

“Let us all hope thatthe document issuccessful in itsprimary purpose – thatof raising awareness ofthe need for clothingfor women worn in thecourse of the policingduties to be taken moreseriously”

Claire Armes

Anyone wanting copies of Uniformsfor Women in Policing – A Guide toSuppliers, should email TraceyMoynihan at [email protected].

By Jackie Jones


6


NEWS 6

MERSEYSIDE Police launched theirwomen’s network 18 months agowith a speed dating event.

Women from across all areas, ranks, gradesand roles were urged to make at least twonew friends by the end of the event by thenetwork’s patron Assistant Chief ConstablePatricia Gallan.

Network chair Jo Evans said it certainly goteveryone talking. “I think everyonebrought with themtheir owndifferentexpectations andfears. But theywere soon allayedwhen they realisedit was aboutsupporting eachother and helping toshape the network.”

Behind the eventwas a group of womenall with one thing incommon: they allwanted to activelyencourage and motivatefemales to unlock theirpotential. This was theirfirst step.

A meeting structure was then set up forwhat became the network’s steering groupand Support Networks Co-ordinator Jo Evansendeavoured to recruit a point of contact forthe network in each BCU and department. Itwas from these contacts that the steeringgroup discovered where they should devotetheir energy.

Pregnancy, maternity, fertility treatmentand associated matters were quicklyhighlighted as a huge issue. The steeringgroup identified a small team to plan anevent aimed at raising awareness andoutlining the support available for staff whenthey embark on their journey to becomeparents.

The event, which was held only fourmonths after the network’s launch, saw bothmale and female staff, pregnant staff, thoseon maternity leave and even a few babiescome together.

“It was also the perfect place to introducea new maternity buddy scheme,” said Jo,“anyone interested is matched up with abuddy who will keep in touch with them

through their experience.”With maternity issues brought to the fore

it was soon decided that the force needed tore-write its maternity guidance and producenew guidance on adoption, fertilitytreatment, maternity and paternity leave.

Career progression and satisfaction wasthe second issue to be highlighted by staff as

needing the network’s attention.Jo says they ran an event

around three workshops. “Thefirst gave practical help onPDRs, interview techniquesand even completingapplication forms.”

She said.Another workshop helped

delegates discuss barriersto career progression –both personal andorganisational. The latterwas then taken on boardby the network. In a

third role models took part in a panelquestion and answer session.

Members of Merseyside Women’sNetwork are now involved in a wide range ofactivities including attending strategicmeetings, taking part in consultation onpolicy and procedures and providing one-to-one support for female colleagues. Jo saysthere are also more events to come. “Wehope to arrange a social event, a jointnetworks event and even a women’s healthevent in the future.” 9

Spotlight on Merseyside Women’s Network

Cumbria hosts national meeting MEMBERS of the National Trans Police Association met staff and officersfrom Cumbria Constabulary when the force hosted their executivemeeting.

Diversity manager Sarah Dimmock offered the use of rooms at Carlisle’s newest policestation to the association – in return she asked that members take part in a question andanswer session with local staff.

A networking evening followed to enable people who had been working in the day tomeet the executive committee members.

“It was great to be able to host the event and to educate staff working locally of theissues faced by Trans staff. All who attended found the information given very useful,” said Sarah. 9

Jo Evans

Women at the maternity event

If you want to know more aboutMerseyside Women’s Networkcontact Jo Evans on 0151 777 1623or joanne.e.evans/[email protected]



7

City women’s network host health sessions

SOLICITOR EmmaHawksworth of RussellJones & Walker’semployment law teamoutlines some of thechanges due in Octoberin the biggest shake upof equality legislation fordecades.

Some of the key changes asa result of the Equality Actinclude:5 Bringing together all the

separate ‘strands’ ofdiscrimination protection inone place, instead of separatelegislation prohibitingdiscrimination on thegrounds of race, gender,disability, age, sexualorientation andreligion/belief. The EqualityAct prohibits direct andindirect discrimination,harassment and victimisationon the grounds of sex, genderreassignment, sexualorientation, race,religion/belief, disability and

age. There is also protectionagainst discrimination on thegrounds of maternity andmarriage/civil partnershipalthough this is more limited;

5 increased protections forthose who claimdiscriminatory treatment onthe ground that they areassociated with someonewith a protectedcharacteristic, or those whoare perceived to have butdon’t actually have aprotected characteristic. So,for example, there is clearerprotection for someone whois harassed because of theirpartners’ age or their son’sdisability;

5 a new form of disabilityprotection: prohibition of‘discrimination arising fromdisability’ which is intendedto restore the law to theposition prior to a House ofLords decision which hasmade disability-relatedclaims very difficult;

5 a prohibition on employersasking applicants abouthealth conditions beforemaking a job offer;

5 bringing in new powers fortribunals to makerecommendations to benefitthe wider workforce, not justthe person bringing the claim;

5 provisions permittingvoluntary positive action.

The provisions establishing asingle equality duty on publicsector bodies are not yet inforce, and the government iscurrently consulting on howbest to implement this pro -posed wider duty. Informationon the consultation is atwww.equalities.gov.uk/news/specific_duties_consultation.aspx

Other provisions which havenot yet been brought into forceinclude:5 The socio-economic duty on

public authorities; 5 Protection against

discrimination on more thanone ground, for examplebeing treated less favourablybecause of being an olderwoman;

5 The positive action provisionson recruitment/promotion(the ‘tie break’ provisions). 9

OVARIAN cancer is the biggestgynaecological killer with 12 womendying each day from the disease.However if it is detected earlyenough it has a 90 per cent survivalrate making it all the more crucial toraise awareness of its symptoms.

That was the message given to City ofLondon Police staff and officers who wentalong to two lunchtime education sessionsheaded up by Loretta Oliver, who is currentlybattling the disease, and staff from OvarianCancer Action.

The events were organised by PC BelindaHarding from the force’s women’s network.“We wanted to be proactive towards staffwelfare,” she said. “One of our members hadheard Loretta speak about her experience ofher illness and was impressed at howimpactive it was.”

The event was squeezed into a lunch hour

making it accessible to as many people aspossible. “I was pleasantly surprised at thenumber of people who came. There was a realmix of police and support staff and evensome male officers,” said Belinda.

She added: “Loretta was able to get oversome important facts in such a way that youleft feeling better informed, but not paranoidthat you had the illness. We will definitely beorganising more of these sessions in thefuture.” 9

Emma Hawksworth

Ovarian Cancer Fact File 5 Common symptoms include: pelvic/abdominal pain, increased abdominal size/bloating

(not bloating that comes and goes), difficulty eating/feeling full quickly. 5 Other symptoms can include urinary symptoms, changes in bowel habits, extreme

fatigue and back pain. 5 If you experience these symptoms on most days ask

your GP if they have considered ovarian cancer.

The Equality Act

Find out more at www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-and-guidance/guidance-equality-act-2010.

Find out more atwww.ovarian.org.uk



FEATURE8

PC Janet Humphrey has a busy dayahead. She’s got to drop her twoyoung sons off at school and get intowork at Ipswich Police Station in timeto catch up on any issues that mightaffect her day.

Janet is part of the LASER team in SuffolkPolice who deal with sexual exploitation issues.She’s completed enough service to rememberwhen this was called ‘Vice’. Once she’s checkedthat none of her clients are in custody andthere are no immediate jobs to deal with, she’llvisit the multi-agency ‘Make a Change’ team.Janet works as part of this team with hercolleagues PC Donna Whelan-Smith, GemmaFisher and Sergeant Neil Boast as well as socialworkers from Suffolk County Council.

Janet came to prominence nationally in thepress at the time of the so-called ‘SuffolkStrangler Murders’. Steve Wright, now servinglife imprisonment, murdered five young womenin Ipswich. The victims were sex workers whoJanet knew as a result of her ad-hoc work intrying to deal with street prostitution inIpswich’s red-light area which was part of herarea as a community beat officer. The crimeswere about to change the way Janet workedand the way in which Suffolk authorities dealtwith sex workers.

Janet says: “When the body of the first victimwas found I was called in by Stuart Gull, thedetective chief superintendent, as he knew Ihad done a lot of work intrying to

deal with the women. It was adreadful time as I had grownfond of a lot of the women andwe were trying hard to look atways of getting them out ofprostitution.”

At the time the communitywhere the women operatedwere upset and angry about thepresence of the women and themen who used them and thelocal Ipswich Police were under alot of pressure to stamp out theproblem.

The ‘Make a Change team’, which is part-funded by Suffolk County Council was set upafter the murders to help women leave sexualexploitation and now helps more than 50women. Janet’s involvement was a given fromday one – especially as she later became acrucial first witness in the murder trial. It wasJanet who was able to explain to the court thelifestyle of the victims.

The work Janet carries out does not always fitinto the average member of the public’s idea of‘police work’. She visits clients that the teamhave helped to exit prostitution and will checkon their welfare and offer support. Theboundary between client and friend is one thatoften ‘blurs’ with Janet and her colleagueGemma being the birthing partners of one ex-sex worker (and no she did not name the babyafter either of them, despite their hopes shewould). Janet explains: “Our clients areregularly visited and contacted once they haveexited sex work. We don’t just stop once theyget out. We keep up our contact and supportso they don’t go back to it.”

Janet is very passionate abouther work says Suffolk CountyCouncil’s Planning andDevelopment Manager HelenHepburn. “Janet cares so much

about the women we deal withand although I know she likes togive off a ‘tough exterior’ attimes we all know she is a verycaring person,” said Helen.

Janet is in demand to talk todifferent groups and does a greatdeal of work in her own time tohighlight the work of the LASERand MAC teams. Janet explains:“Make a Change is the softerside of things and LASER is theprosecution of the people whoexploit sex workers. I enjoy both

sides of the job and the new legislation thatenables us to prosecute those who use sex workers who have been exploited,

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DEALING WITH SUFFOTHE dedication and hard work of one Suffolk constable was recognised at this year’s BAWP Awards inApril. PC Janet Humphrey was given the Excellence in Performance award for her work helping sexworkers and dealing with their associated issues. But what does Janet really do and who is she? HerSergeant Neil Boast decided to put his journalistic talents to the test and show Grapevine’s readers whyJanet really deserved her award.

“I’m just a gobbynortherner who tookan interest in dealingwith prostitution”

Janet Humphrey with two of her colleagues Sergeant Neil Boast and

Steve Wright was foundguilty of murdering fivewomen



9

t

conned or coerced is really useful.”As a NPIA Tactical Advisor Janet works

with many different agencies. “We are allqualified ‘Tac Ads’ on the LASER team andwe also deal with human traffickingissues. We are coming across more andmore trafficked sex workers, especially inoriental brothels. This means we are routinelyworking with the UK Border Agency, colleaguesin Health, the UK Human Trafficking Centre,SOCA and the Department of Work andPensions for example.”

Janet and the team recently investigated ahusband and wife who ran brothels across thecountry. Over £138,000 of assets was seizedfrom them following the prosecution. This is thehigh profile side of the job but Janet prefersworking with the women. “It’s all about trust. Ittakes time for some clients to realise we aregenuinely there to help but we really are.”

Ask the lady herself about her work and she isself-deprecating: “I’m just a gobby northernerwho took an interest in dealing withprostitution.” When pushed to explain furthershe is more serious and candid. “I was really

trying to build relationshipswith the women and the

murders were a turningpoint. It really focusedall the agencies towork together and thelegacy is that there isno street prostitution

in Suffolk.”

How does she answer critics whosay that the women have simply gone into off-street work? She says: “The women who didstreet work were different and would not haveworked in an off-street environment.

We have made sure that we have supportedall the clients that have exited street work.”

What does the future hold for Janet and theteam? She is keen to build on the team’ssuccess and explained they are nowconcentrating on dealing with off-street sexualexploitation. “We have a ‘Victim BasedApproach’. We get a lot of intelligence about sexwork and look at targeting the exploiters andnot the workers. We have been successful inprosecuting off-street brothels and particularlythe oriental ones where the victims have oftenbeen trafficked. This, and the protection ofyoung people is our priority. We also visit loneworkers who are not committing offences tomake sure they are operating safely but also tosee if we can help them exit the work. I don’tthink any woman wants to sell her body bychoice and if we can help her get out of thatlifestyle we will.”

I ask Janet how has the ‘fame’ aspect of beingportrayed in the ‘Five Daughters’ Televisiondramatisation of the murders affected her? “Itwas weird watching someone be me on TV. ButI thought they did a sensitive job in portrayingthe women as people you could care about.”

Janet and her team welcome enquiries from anyone interested in their work. Contact them on 01473 383145 [email protected] 9

OLK’S WORKERSy

t and PC Donna Whelan-Smith


10


QWhat did you want to bewhen you were growing up?

AFrom the age of 16 I wanted to be thefirst female chief constable in Wales.

QWho has been your greatestinspiration or role model andwhy?

AMy dad because he used to tell me: “Youare as good as anyone, no better, noworse, but equal to all”. That has stayed

with me all my life and enabled me to dealconfidently with royalty and vagrants and treatall with respect.

QWhat is the most memorablemoment of your career todate?

AGiven that I have had three careers eachwith their own high points, but as apolice officer it was being personally

interviewed by Lord Edmund Davies as part ofhis review into police pay and workingconditions. A year after that we got anunprecedented 45 per cent pay rise and beganto work on a more equal footing with malecolleagues. I don’t think for one minute I had agreat influence on that culture change, but itwas exciting to think I may have saidsomething that helped.

QWhat barriers to success haveyou come across and how didyou deal with them?

AI don’t agree with the word ‘barriers’ –they are all challenges that can beovercome by keeping an open mind and

approaching things differently and not givingup. My greatest challenge was joining the policeservice to begin with. In the 70’s there were stillheight and weight restrictions, eyesight limits,no such thing as equality and it wasn’t viewedas a job ‘suitable’ for women. South WalesPolice turned me down three times so I wentand got contact lenses and applied to everyforce in Wales, Scotland and England until atlast Dyfed-Powys took me on.

Name:Jane McHugh

Age: 52

Current posting/role:West Mercia PoliceNVQ/NOS Centre Co-ordinator

Brief career history:Joined Dyfed-PowysPolice in 1977 andserved in Special Branchduring the IRA mainlandbombing campaign. Iwas the only femaleofficer in the incidentroom of Operation SealBay at that time thelargest conspiracy toimport controlled drugsinto the UK.

A second career ineducation followedworking alongside HerMajesty’s Inspectorateof Education inspectingstandards in schools.

Finally amongst other roles I worked at a local college leading on the training anddevelopment ofassessors and verifiersfor the public sector.

Family: Married for 29years to Peter, a recently retired chiefsuperintendent, withtwo daughters and atwo-year-oldgranddaughter.

In the SPOTLIGHTQHow have you achieved a

satisfactory work/life balance?

AIf I’m honest I haven’t all the time. Sacrificeshave had to be made – I took time out of mycareer to enable my husband to follow his,

then I left my young children at home while Itravelled the country with work often missingimportant events in their lives. You have to do whatis right for you and your family at the time. Theimportant thing is not to regret any action you take.

QWhat advice would you give to anambitious new officer or member of police staff?

AFollow your dreams and never give up, don’tpromise what you are not prepared to followthrough and don’t always look for the

obvious path in life. Every experience you have is atransferable skill if you just look wider.

QWhat three words describe your personality?

AFamily, friends and colleagues all describe medifferently, but basically warm, driven andopen-minded sum me up.

QWhat are your vices?

AGood food, nice wines and fast cars (not all at the same time!)

QWhere is your favourite holidaydestination and why?

AI have two: Rome for the romance andatmosphere and Boston for the shopping.

QWhere do you see yourself in five years time?

AHealthy, wealthy and wise and in thesetimes of uncertainty still employed.



11

A RETIRED Metropolitan PoliceDetective Superintendent hasproved the skills you gain as aserving officer can set you upperfectly for business life outsidethe service.

Suzanne Williams, QPM, took herextensive skills as a hostage negotiator andafter leaving the service in 2008 set up herown successful business providing experthelp and advice to those dealing withhostage and crisis situations across theworld.

In particular Suzanne has worked with theInternational Maritime Bureau to secure thesafe release of sailors taken hostage bypirates.

This has often meant negotiating directlywith the pirate groups themselves incountries such as Somalia where thegovernment does not have a real cabinet tocall upon to co-ordinate such activities.

During high-risk extortion incidentsSuzanne is an integral part of the crisismanagement team and assists theinternational business community, workingin partnership, balancing safety and ensuringreputational management. She works withmany companies in preparing their crisisresponse plan through training andsimulation.

This, along with her voluntary workhelping kidnapped aid workers overseas andacting as a trustee for Hostage UK, anorganisation set up by Terry Waite, hasearned her praise from the shippingcommunity.

WISTA-UK, which is part of the Women’sInternational Shipping and TradingAssociation, hailed her ‘Personality of theYear’ only last month (September).

One of the WISTA judges mentionedSuzanne’s experience in Somalia andcommented: “Such negotiations can be veryfrustrating, and only a small group of peoplepossess the ability to carry them out. Pirateshave widened their field of attack, and thisputs an enormous pressure on the shippingindustry. People with the ability to face thesechallenges are few, and Suzanne is one ofthem. Her work in this field is not only ofbenefit to the shipping companies andoperators but also to the seafarers, their

families and relatives.” Suzanne, who headed up the Hostage

Crisis Negotiation Unit based at NewScotland Yard and previously formed part ofthe Royalty Protection Group seniormanagement team working fromBuckingham Palace, says she had been“nervous” about venturing into the unknownoutside business world.

“I had been a qualified hostage negotiatorsince 1991, having trained initially atHendon and later with the FBI at Quantico,Virginia; I wanted to put my good experienceand skills to use and continue to make adifference and ultimately save people’s lives – but I was unsure how I could do thatin a commercial world,” said Suzanne.

“However I had underestimated how wellmy police training and skills would transferinto civilian life,” she added, “right from thevery beginning an officer is taught not to

panic, to assess the situation and toprioritise. Those three elements stay withyou for the rest of your life – and you takethem for granted. However not everyoneacts that way which makes those skills andreactions highly valued in the civilianworkplace.”

BAWP national co-ordinator TraceyMoynihan echoes Suzanne’s commentssaying how important it is that police staffand officers realise how well the service setsthem up for outside life. “There aren’t manyworkplaces – other than the emergencyservices and armed forces – where peopleface the situations officers and even somestaff do every day or their working life – Iwould urge people not to underestimatethe amazing skill bases they have,”she said. 9

Ex-officer Sue turns pirate-catcher

PEOPLE


12


AFTER ten years at the helm ofBAWP Julie Spence steppeddown as President inSeptember.

Julie decided to retire both asCambridgeshire’s chief constable and asBAWP’s lead after committing 32 yearsof her life to policing.

Members of the BAWP committeegathered in Huntingdon in June, at Julie’sfinal meeting, to say their goodbyes andcelebrate the organisation’sachievements over the past ten years.

Julie was joined by her husband Johnand driver Geoff Bye at a farewell dinnerwhere she was presented with a paintingof a mountain gorilla by one of herfavourite wildlife artists Jason Morgan.

A donation was also made in Julie’sname to the Ol Lentille Trust, a charitywhich supports conservation, education,healthcare and enterprise development

Julie leaves le

BAWP secretary Carolyn Williamsonshares her memories of Julie’s ten-year journey in helping police womenand staff achieve their full potential.

Julie first came onto BAWP’s radar at theEuropean Network ofPolicewomen’s historicconference “Quality throughEquality” held in 1992 atBramshill. At that time she was aTemporary Chief Inspectorseconded to the ACPOSecretariat in London, from herhome force of Avon andSomerset Constabulary. She wasone of a number of seniorwomen officers who cametogether to run this conference,

at a time when they were few and farbetween. Two of the others were ChiefInspector Anne Summers of Avon andSomerset Constabulary, who eventually retiredas Deputy Chief Constable of West MidlandsPolice and Superintendent Della Cannings,who eventually retired as Chief Constable ofNorth Yorkshire Police.

BAWP, through its founder, Tina Martin,

managed to get itself involved as ‘gofers’ atthis event, and a few of us mere constablesand sergeants had a golden opportunity toenter the hallowed portals of Bramshill –almost unheard of at that time. Bramshilldidn’t really know what had hit it, with about150 women on site all at once.

After her time at ACPO, Julie returned to

Avon and Somerset, and joined BAWP in 1993.She gained further promotions, and in 1999was appointed an Assistant Chief Constable forThames Valley Police, where she initially heldthe Corporate Development portfolio and tookover the Territorial Policing portfolio in January2003.

In 2000 Julie was elected as the secondPresident of BAWP, taking over fromCommander Judy Davison of City of LondonPolice.

In a response to a plea from Tony Burden,then President of ACPO, who wanted to knowwhat women in policing wanted, she chaired avery wide-ranging group which worked hard toproduce the first ‘Gender Agenda’ document.

This document was eventually published in2001, was reviewed in 2003 and was“refocused and reinvigorated” by BAWP in2006 as Gender Agenda 2. This became acomponent of government policy and wasincluded in the Police Reform Programme, theNational Policing Plan and HMI’s InspectionRegime, and is a fine example of the type ofwork with which Julie has been involvedthroughout her career.

She was appointed to Deputy Chief

w

A ten-year history remembered

atccvweS

FEATURE

CarolynWilliamson


13


legacy to Kenyan school children

Constable for Cambridgeshire Constabulary inApril 2004 and became Chief Constable inDecember 2005.

Maximising the potential of all staff, andparticularly those in a minority, is an area ofwork that Julie has championed throughouther career. In recognition of this, BAWPsuccessfully nominated Julie for theOpportunity Now Champion Award in 2006for her outstanding commitment andachievement in her role as gender champion.The citation really summed up hercontribution to keeping the needs of womenin policing a live issue. It said:

“She recognises the need to develop a

skilled and motivated workforce of both policeofficers and staff, in order to deliver an efficientand effective service. Throughout her service invarious chief officer ranks, Julie has alwaysbeen one of very few women in such roles.Not deterred by the preponderance of men orthe culture that existed throughout many ofthose years, Julie has take a personal role inbringing about change for the better forwomen within the police service and also forthe benefit of the communities they serve. TheBAWP believes that Julie’s personalcommitment and leadership has broughtabout: 5 Greater representation of women in the

police service5 Greater representation of women regardless

of sexual orientation and ethnicity acrossthe rank structure and specialisms

5 A better understanding of the competingdemands in achieving a work-life balance aswell as a successful police career

5 Women having a voice in influential policydebates”

Colleagues who have worked closely with Julieacknowledge how her leadership style,commitment and personality have influencedthe objectives and goals of many organisationswithin the extended family of the policeservice. Through empowerment, coaching and

mentoring, many have recognised the value ofher goals and embraced them. Often a lonevoice, she has inspired individuals to take alead in their own organisations. Wherenecessary she has demonstrated her abilityand willingness to drive through change moreforcibly, through lobbying ministers, chiefconstables or supporting changes in legislationand regulation.

In the Queen’s 80th birthday honours list inJune 2006 she was awarded an OBE partly forher work developing the Gender Agenda andBAWP. In 2010 she received a Queen’s Police Medal. 9

in an area of Laikipia North and Isiolo Districts, Kenya.The money will be used to help fund a new school –

a project which is close to Julie’s heart after she visitedthe schools on two trips to Kenya and met thechildren. “The school was literally one very smallconcrete block with a tin roof,” said Julie, “there wasvery little for the children at that time, just a sand pitwith no toys. But the children were still very happy andenjoying the very basic education they were getting.Some walked up to six miles a day to get to school.”

Julie says she wanted to ensure the children kept uptheir love of learning so she sent out bags ofeducational toys, or even dropped them off if she wasin Nairobi.

“This is a very arid poor part of Northern Kenya.When we dropped off the toys we stayed in an Ecolodge which was a community partnership projectwith some of the money going to the community. Wealso met a women’s group trying to get a smallbusiness going making aloe soaps and creams to stoptheir reliance on making charcoal - the cause of treeand woodland removal.”

Julie added: “It is great that BAWP have agreed tosupport the project as my leaving gift. I am reallyproud to have been the president of BAWP for last 10years. I have learnt so much from the many women Ihave met and worked with. If in that time I have givenjust one woman the motivation to achieve herpotential then it has been worthwhile. Good luck toyou all. I will remain your number one fan!” 9

Find out more about the charity at www.ol-lentilletrust.org/

Julie receivesher OBE

Pupils at Ngabolo school


14 FEATURE

A MERSEYSIDE detectiveinspector has won a‘Women in Public Life’award for her innovativework tackling guncrime.

Alison Foulkes turned todrama to try and explainwitness care and protection toencourage more people totestify against gun-toutingcriminals. The 15,000 copies ofthe ten-minute DVD sheproduced are being given to guncrime witnesses, victims andtheir families.

The DVD case is deliberatelynot marked with police logos,but merely carries thetitle ‘Always theright thing’, so thatif it is found in ahouse by anothermember of thefamily the witness isnot put in a difficultposition.

It was this, andtwo other projectseducating childrenabout the perils ofgetting involved inguns and gangs, whichsingled her out withthe judges of the‘Women in Business North WestAwards’.

Alison said: “I am sopassionate about this matterbecause I truly believe that wewill never arrest our way outof this problem. There isa need forenforcement ofcourse and we willalways act onintelligence andinformationreceived to dealwith people whochoose to carry and use guns.

However, we also need toeducate the younger generationabout the consequences ofgetting involved with the wrongpeople, and the impact thatmaking the wrong decisions canhave on their lives, their family’slives and the lives of others.”

After seeing the success ofher first forage into dramaAlison was then involved increating a film of a prisonerserving nine years for firearmsoffences. His account of theconsequences of hisinvolvement in this crime onhimself and his family has beenshown in schools, used by theYouth Offending

Service and the ProbationService to prevent andrehabilitate young offenders.

However Alison says she ismost proud of her currentproject ‘Terriers’

which has seen herteam up with

Hollyoaks scriptwriterMaurice Bessman to create aplay about two feuding gangs inLiverpool. “It explores the moraldilemmas and choices that

many young people face whenpressurised to join a gang,” shesaid.

The play comes with aneducational CD-Romwith scenes from theplay, 10 lesson plansand the script.

“The idea is theyoung people seethe play and thenstudy it in theclassroom, as they wouldShakespeare orany otherplaywright. Theeducationalresource hasbeen written in

line with the Englishcurriculum for Key Stage 3, andit is this that makes it soeffective and unique,” saidAlison.

To date more than 20,000young people across

Merseyside have seenthe play.

Alison added:“We have

hadthe project fully

evaluated and theresults speak for

themselves. There has been animprovement in young people’sattitude and behaviour inrespect of guns and gangs, butalso a big improvement in theireffort and attainment whilststudying this play. There was asignificant leap in grades at KeyStage 3 English as a result ofstudying Terriers.”

Alison says she is currentlyworking on phase two of Terrierswhich will go into primaryschools in November this year.“I’ve done this because it isevident that children as youngas nine and 10 are alreadyaligning themselves to gangs,particularly where they have anolder sibling already involved.”

But in these cash-strappedtimes Alison is still on the lookout for more funding. “I havesecured funding from anyoneand anywhere who will listen tomy plea. I’m still short for theprimary project and myhusband is rather worried thatone day soon he’ll wake up andI’ll have sold the car. The projecthas already been supported byLiverpool City Council DISARMgroup (strategic partnership forguns and gangs), the Rhys JonesMemorial Cup Trust, LiverpoolUnites (Liverpool Echo charityestablished following themurder of Rhys Jones), andLiverpool Football Club. I amalso waiting for funding fromthe local housing trusts – wholike the football club havecommunity cohesion targetsand supporting preventativemeasures like this helps themmeet them.” 9

Fighting gun crime through dramaBy Nicky Phillipson


Alison Foulkes

Interested in the project and want to know more? Contact Alison direct [email protected]

Actors from

Terriers



PEOPLE 15

TWO SUSSEX sergeants will be leavingtheir UK home behind on Boxing Day tobecome volunteer aid workers inNorthern India. Hari Michaelakis and herpartner Rob Flanagan are spending two-weeks living and working within a localcommunity.

The trip – whichthey have fundedthemselves – will seethem giving basicEnglish lessons, gettinginvolved inconstruction, farmingand general householdchores. “It is also achance to learn moreabout how thesepeople survive in suchpoverty,” said Hari. “Wewill be making apersonal monetarydonation to the family,but we are also hoping totake with us a stock of itemswe take for granted such astoothbrushes, toothpaste,soap, flannels and combs.They also need simple things like pencil sharpeners,colouring pencils and books, and children’s picturebooks.”

Hari and Rob will be handing out everythingthey take with them

directly to the people who need them most inKanda and the surrounding area.

Their adventure has been organised inconjunction with ‘Original Volunteers’ who can assist with volunteering opportunities all over the world.

Hari added: “Itcertainly is going tobe an experience –washing outdoorswith only a bucket ofwater, eating thelocal food and tryingto communicate inHindi is going to be awhole new ball game.I volunteered withthis organisation acouple of years agoand worked inThailand in a schoolfor under-privilegedchildren. I gained asmuch from the tripas the local childrenand their familiessaid they got fromme. As a result of the

time I spent with the children in Thailand fivechildren passed their entrance exam into the localsecondary school. Places are usually only given tothe more wealthy children in the vicinity so thiswas quite an achievement for these children andmade their families very proud. It’s a humblingexperience and one I’m most grateful to have theopportunity to experience this time with mypartner Rob.”

Rob said: “Hari and I are in a privileged position,affording the luxury of a nice home together, goodfood and secure jobs. In particular during thiscurrent climate of economic instability it’s nice toremind ourselves that there are others who have itmuch harder than we do.” 9

IAWPNews American tripfor conferenceIAWP President JaneTownsley, regionalrepresentative JuliaJaeger, diversitylead CarolThomas andIAWP CivilianAchievementaward winnerVickiHastingsjetted off toMinneapolis for the 48thannual training conference inSeptember.

Vicki, who received her prizeat the conference, was putforward for the award afterscooping the same category inthis year’s BAWP awards.

Isabella McManus, who wonthe IAWP Leadership award,was unable to join the group toreceive her recognition. 5 Look out for more on theconference in the next issue ofGrapevine.

Taking BAWPvalues toBelgradeInspector Julia Jaeger, who alsosits on the BAWP nationalcommittee, will be sharing theessence of Gender Agenda 2with European police chiefsthis month (October). Julia isshowcasing BAWP’s work atthe opening of the South EastEurope Police ChiefAssociation’s women policeofficer network. Closer to home Julia is bookedto speak to 32 European policeofficers on a month’s course atBramshill studying BritishPolicing. “I will be telling themall about IAWP, what it doesand how it can help them inthe future,” said Julia.

Sussex Officers setto volunteer in India

Hari and Rob will saygoodbye to ChichesterPolice Station for twoweeks in December

Hari and Robert are looking for donations– both money and items – to take withthem on their trip. Please contact them byemail if you would like to make a donation. [email protected] [email protected]

Winner VickiHastings


COMMITTEE MEMBERS16


Jackie Alexander, [email protected]

Claire Armes, Devon & [email protected].

Ellie Bird, Vice President, British Transport [email protected]

Vera Bloor, [email protected]

Pam Bridges, Northumbria [email protected]

Karen Burton, Leicestershire [email protected]

Berni Cartwright, [email protected]

Mandy Chapman, [email protected]

Tricia Cochrane, Lothian and [email protected]

Sally Crook, [email protected]

Cressida Dick, President [email protected]

Sarah Dimmock, [email protected]

Gill Donnell, [email protected]

Patricia Foy, [email protected]

Felicity Hurst, [email protected]

Melanie Irwin, Norfolk [email protected]

Julia Jaeger, Metropolitan [email protected]

Fiona Kerr, MOD Police [email protected]

Jackie Jones, Communications & PR [email protected]

Becky Kidd-Stanton, [email protected]

Sian Lockley, Hertfordshire [email protected]

Kim Madill, Grapevine Editoron maternity [email protected]

Tracey Moynihan, National [email protected]

Nicky Phillipson, GrapevineAssistant Editor,[email protected]

Barbara Spooner, [email protected]

Tara Swann, PSNI [email protected]

Pippa Taylor, [email protected]

Carol Thomas, [email protected]

Jane Townsley, British Transport [email protected]

Julia Walsh, Gwent/[email protected]

Tracy Watling, [email protected]

Annette Wightman, [email protected]

Robyn Williams, Metropolitan [email protected]

Carolyn Williamson, [email protected]

Angela Wilson, [email protected]

How to become a member of BAWPFor further information contact: CAROLYN WILLIAMSON, Secretary, BAWP, PO Box 999, Bordon, GU35 5AQ.Tel: 0844 414 0448 • Fax: 0844 414 0448 • E-mail: [email protected] • Website: www.bawp.org

5 You can attend national and regional training days and social events. • We can link you to other police professionals in this country andabroad.

5 We can enable you to share your expertise or specialist knowledge with others. • We have a ready-made network for work-related andsocial contacts. • We can keep you informed of training opportunities and conferences. • We can help your voice be heard in mattersaffecting women in the police service. • You will receive regular copies of this magazine.

Membership detailsFull membership is open to all officers and police staff, female and male, serving in the UK, along with retired officers.Associate membership is open to anyone with a professional interest in criminal justice.Corporate membership is now available for £350 p.a. Please contact BAWP Secretary Carolyn Williamson for more details, or join and pay online via www.bawp.org or complete the formbelow and send it with your payment to: BAWP, PO Box 999, Bordon, GU35 5AQ.

Name: Rank/Title:

Address:

Postcode: Country:

Tel: Mobile:

E-mail: Force/Organisation:

Station/Dept: Type of work (if not police):

5 Membership type (circle one) FULL/ASSOCIATE • Membership term (circle one) £20 for one year/£50 for three yearsI believe I am eligible to join, and enclose a cheque payable to ‘BAWP’.(If for any reason, your application is not accepted, the fee will, of course, be refunded in full.)

Signed: Date:

GVAUT10



HELPING YOU TOACHIEVE YOUR FULL POTENTIAL• Gender Agenda

• Professional Development Days

• Annual Awards

• Personal Development Workshop

• Media Training

• Mentor Training

For membership details visit: www.bawp.orgCall: 0844 414 0448

Email: [email protected]

JOIN OUR CAMPAIGNS – JOIN BAWP

Interested? Membership

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