A POLICE officer known to many as ‘Mr Pickersleigh’ for his dedicated service to the Malvern district is up for a special award.
PSCO Steve Freeman is one of a list of nominees to be up for top prizes at West Mercia Police’s annual awards ceremony taking place tonight (Thursday).
The awards recognise people who go the extra mile to ensure communities are safe – whether they do it professionally or as a volunteer.
PCSO Freeman has been nominated to win Police Community Support Officer of the Year – one of six categories in this year’s awards.
He has worked in the ‘highest need’ Pickersleigh Ward in Malvern for eight years and is so well regarded by his community he’s known as ‘Mr Pickersleigh’.
He is a lead member of The Big Pickersleigh Project and Community Empowerment Group organising community events for children. He even plays Santa at Christmas parties.
Steve is also the man behind creating a ‘Holiday House Watch’ scheme in response to burglaries which received tremendous public support.
The whole Pickersleigh ward officers has also been recognised by being nominated for the Safer Neighbourhood Team of the Year award.
Pickersleigh ward is a high demand area with high levels of deprivation and hard to reach communities. Last year the team were the first in the UK to use new powers to evict a tenant for persistent disorder.
As a result of their hard work, anti-social behaviour and crime levels have fallen and public surveys show 86 per cent of residents feel the team are dealing with the issues they are concerned about.
Dedicated volunteer Paul Leopard, who holds citizens advice surgeries in Malvern and Upton on Fridays, is up for Volunteer of the Year.
Police and crime commissioner for West Mercia Bill Longmore started the new awards scheme in conjunction with chief constable David Shaw.
Mr Longmore said: “I know there are countless people in West Mercia going above and beyond to ensure their communities are better places in which to live and work and I would like to thank all of the people who put forward nominations. It was a difficult deciding on the overall winners.
“All of the people nominated are shining lights and show how much can be gained by people working together locally to find solutions that suit their own communities. Everyone who was nominated should feel proud of their achievement and I am sure they will continue their good work.”
