Today (Saturday, 19 November) is International Men's Day and Somerset and Avon Police have marked it by celebrating the many men across Avon and Somerset Police that work to keep the region's communities safe.

Chief Constable Sarah Crew said: "This International Men's Day we want to celebrate and thank all the dedicated and incredible men who work tirelessly to make the difference for our people and communities in Avon and Somerset.

"We are showcasing the work of a selection of our male officers, staff and volunteers who inspire people every day through the work they do in policing."

Nick Adams

Nick is Chief Officer for Finance, Resources Innovation. He's also a father of two and has been a trustee for the Wheels Project for the last nine years.

The Wheels Project is a multi-agency charity including police and education services. It offers courses for 14 – 24 year olds who may be struggling with their academic studies, have low attendance levels or are unemployed. The project identifies students who have shown an interest in practical, motor vehicle-based activities who are keen to make the most of the opportunities offered.

His role is to support the finances and strategic direction of Wheels, which wanted someone with a finance background to join their board of trustees.

"Education is critically important – getting the right support, in the right environment and being given the opportunity to fulfil your potential. Some of the young people we work with haven't had the best start in life and I find the change they make for themselves very inspiring."

To find out more about the project, visit: The Wheels Project

Nick Adams.

Paul Walker

Paul has been with Avon and Somerset Police since 2019, working as a Diverse Workforce Outreach Worker.

The Outreach team's function is to increase diversity and promote inclusivity within the organisation. Paul is involved with many external events, such as career fairs and school visits, to encourage underrepresented groups to join the police. He is also involved with internal events, such as providing safe spaces for colleagues to have open conversations about race as an educational tool.

Paul is a point of contact for people with protected characteristics who want to join the police. He can provide insight into how they would be supported, help with any questions during the recruitment process, and always be on hand even when they are in the force to provide support.

"My greatest achievement is helping people who come to us feeling as though the world is against them and seeing them not only achieve their dreams with Avon and Somerset, but watching them thrive in their roles. Looking forward, I want to help achieve our force goal of becoming the most diverse and inclusive force in the UK."

Paul Walker.

Michael Griffiths

Michael is a Neighbourhood Policing Inspector covering Taunton and over the last 12 months, he and his team have been working closely with partners to reduce the specific harm in our communities caused by violence, knife crime, drug related criminality, gang culture and ASB.

Michael identified a worrying increase in violent offences including stabbings, robberies and ASB that were causing fear and trauma within our communities. He therefore invoked a multi-agency approach and problem-solving plan with the aim of murder suppression, reducing community harm, reducing child exploitation, identifying, and prosecuting offenders, and diverting young people involved in crime and ASB.

In what has been a tenacious policing operation he has worked in partnership to make communities safer and reassure the public that Avon and Somerset are determined to root out and bring to justice those who seek to cause harm.

"I am proud of the team and of what has been achieved. The real success of an operation like this depends on the determination and dedication of those involved and on the ability of different agencies to work together. Most importantly it is to have the trust of the public to work with us. It is easy to quantify the success of this operation in terms of numbers and percentages of reductions but harder to quantify if lives have been saved as a result, which is our on-going objective. I believe lives have been saved and harm in the communities has reduced, but we won't rest on our laurels and will continue with the strong partnerships we have built to relentlessly pursue those that are intent on causing harm in our communities."

Michael Griffiths.

Stuart King

Stuart is a neighbourhood sergeant working at Trinity Road and runs the Dementia Safeguarding Scheme on a voluntary basis alongside his core role with assistance from the force enquiry office staff.

In early 2015, Stuart set up the Avon and Somerset Dementia Forum after witnessing first hand, some tragic incidents involving vulnerable missing people with dementia and the distress that it caused the families of those involved.

The scheme, also known as the Herbert Protocol, enables families to upload vital information about their loved one via our website, which can be quickly accessed by the police should the need arise to conduct a missing person search.

Funding of the scheme has been provided completely by external support from Bristol Water, Wessex Water and Western Power, enabling over 2000 NFC devices to be rolled out to people living with Dementia completely free of charge. Stuart's initiative has since been rolled out to other forces in the country and internationally.

"I am really proud that the scheme is soon to enter its eighth year. While it is never a substitute for good care, it makes it all worthwhile when I hear from the families of people living with dementia that our scheme has provided them with reassurance, support and protection. I am also proud that we've have been able to support forces across England, Wales, Scotland and beyond adopt our wider scheme which is preventing missing person searches and therefore saving significant police time and money."

To find out more about the Dementia Safeguarding Scheme, click here

Stuart King.