Outstanding officers recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours

Police Federation of England and Wales

4 min read12 October 2020 Partner content

The surname of Charles David Crichlow, Lately Constable, Greater Manchester Police, was spelt incorrectly in the previous release and has now been amended.

The longest serving female police officer in England and Wales is among 17 rank and file officers and two members of the Special Constabulary who are recognised in The Queen's Birthday Honours list today (10 October).

PC Rani Kaur Gundhu joined West Midlands Police in 1980 and receives the Queens Police Medal. During her four decades in uniform she has policed neighbourhoods across Wolverhampton and is currently involved business crime prevention. She is a champion for diversity and women in leadership roles within her force. PC Gundhu previously received an award for her long service and good conduct in 2010 and says she has no plans to retire just yet.

Other notables include Chief Inspector Mohammed Aziz, Mental Health Lead for Bedfordshire Police, who is made an OBE for his work on the Mental Health Hub. More than 1,500 detentions have been avoided thanks to a pioneering partnership between East London NHS Foundation Trust and Bedfordshire Police in its first year.

Sgt Dave Clarke, an officer with Durham Constabulary since in 1996, was awarded the British Empire Medal. He helped set up a community café, youth club, and radio station as part of his commitment to help his residents in Stanley.

He said he has loved every minute of policing, adding: “It has given me chance to work in the very heart of the community, helping protect vulnerable people and make it a safer place. I have come across some of the nicest people I have ever met in Stanley: they just need help to get their communities back where they were.”

Among Dave’s first arrests was a burglar who he arrested again 20 years’ later. He explained: “After a while, you get to know them. They commit crime because they have fallen into the grip of drugs and they do it to feed their habit, which is why the forward-looking approach of the force in trying to deal with the underlying causes behind crime works so well. If you can help them solve that problem, then you can make a difference to them and the community they live in.”

John Apter, National Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: “It is an extraordinary achievement to receive such recognition from Her Majesty the Queen and I want to congratulate all my colleagues who have received an honour on this special day.

“This is the result of the exceptional professionalism and dedication shown by colleagues in the Federated ranks. Police officers don’t do what they do for any recognition but to be recognised in this way is a great achievement and each individual should be incredibly proud.”

Sir Philip Barton, Permanent Under Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service, said: “I congratulate everyone receiving an honour and thank them for their hard work and years of service.”

The recipients are as follows:

Queen’s Police Medal