Thame’a Winning Policeman
A THAME beat officer with 23 years service has been voted Community Officer of the Year for the Oxfordshire area of Thames Valley Police.
PC Russell Hounslow was nominated by scores of town residents for his dedication and hard work. On hearing the results PC Hounslow, said: “I am shocked. I knew I had been nominated; several people stopped me in Thame town centre and said they had voted for me. But winning the BCU title is a complete surprise and totally unexpected. I am very proud. I am not really one for shouting about what I do, but it’s really nice that there are people in the community who appreciate some of the things I have done.
“I try and do as much foot patrol around the town centre as I possibly can. I go to the senior citizens’ coffee mornings and talk to them about things they can do to stop themselves becoming victims of crime. I speak to residents out shopping and pick up how they feel about anti-social behaviour and information about things that are going on.”
“Now and again people have concerns that they might not necessarily come to a police station to report, but they will talk to an officer if they bump into one and by talking about it we can share information and sometimes put their minds at rest.”
PC Hounslow’s beat includes Thame, Towersey and Moreton. He visits the schools in his area regularly and gets young people in the area involved in community safety initiatives. This year children from the drama group at Lord Williams School have been working with Russell to stage a play about distraction burglary. Senior citizens from the Thame area were invited to the production and the folk band and choir from Burley Hill primary school provided extra entertainment.
His experience with the police cadets led PC Hounslow to join Thames Valley Police at 18-and-a-half years after he left school. He began his service at High Wycombe and then joined Roads Policing at Amersham. He was later transferred to headquarters control room, before moving to Aylesbury control room. Russell then took a job at Thame as a shift officer before taking up his current position of area beat officer. He is also one of the Wildlife crime officers for the Force.
PC Hounslow is working with Thame Chamber of Commerce and Thame Town Council to get CCTV installed in the town. He has also worked closely with crime reduction colleagues, South Oxfordshire District Council and Thame Town Council to tackle reports of anti-social behaviour and drinking in the town centre. Last year Thame was part of a pilot scheme for designated drinking areas. PC Hounslow says this partnership approach to the town centre problems is key to the success they have had in reducing complaints of anti-social behaviour.
The Community Officer of the Year award gives the public a chance to vote for the community officer they think is the best. This year, 64 community officers were nominated in the Thames Valley Police area. The competition was judged by a panel, chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Michael Page, Local Policing. The other judges were Gayle Rossiter, head of Corporate Information, Inspector Michael Carrick, Deputy Chairman of Thames Valley Police Federation, Roy Trustram-Eve, Chairman of Thames Valley Crimestoppers and John Bond-Smith, owner of West Oxfordshire Motor Auctions, who sponsored the competition. The judges were faced with tough decisions because of the volume and quality of the nominations this year.
