Brave officers hailed by police chiefs at awards ceremony

The commendation ceremonies, which were held at North Yorkshire Police headquarters, saw officers commended for bringing murderers, fraudsters and drug dealers to justice.

Director of specialist operations Chief Supt Ken McItosh, a host at the event, said this was proof the force was still one of the best in the country.

He said: “We are still committed to providing a high quality service despite the difficult financial year. I think people do an amazing job for us every single day and I’m really proud to be part of an organisation that has been as successful as we are. The morale of the officers remains very strong because they come to work to do a really excellent job. Where morale has been more affected is with our police staff colleagues as that is where a lot of the cuts have hit.”

The Judge’s Commendation was awarded to the team who investigated and brought to justice Ricky Gelardo for the murder of Alan Atkin in Scarborough in April 2010. Mr Atkin’s body lay undiscovered for five days, by which time the offender had destroyed bloodstained clothing and trainers.

Teresa Bentley, from the force’s Financial Investigation Unit, received two Director’s Commendations for investigations into the financial backgrounds of a man running a brothel and a man found guilty of supplying Class A drugs. At the time the confiscation orders totalling £622,306 were the largest in the force’s history.

DC Fionna McEwan, of York CID, was also awarded a Director’s Commendation for her investigation into a series of distraction burglaries across North Yorkshire and the north.

Other awards went to officers for investigations into serious assaults, alleged rape and theft. Lifesaving efforts were also commended, including Tadcaster PC Tony Papworth’s dramatic rescue of a man whose boat capsized on the River Ouse last year.