Work protecting public from sex offenders recognised

A WEST Yorkshire Police employee’s work protecting the public from sex offenders has won him a top award.

Former detective John Beardsmore has received an Association of Chief Police Officer’s award for displaying “exceptional commitment” to protecting vulnerable people.

Mr Beardsmore received a Certificate of Appreciation from Chief Constable Paul West, the Association of Chief Police Officers’ lead officer on the management of sexual and violent offenders.

He was selected in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the development of ViSOR (Violent and Sex Offender Register) and commitment to protect vulnerable people, in supporting colleagues across England and Wales to effectively implement sexual offender and violent offender legislation.

Mr Beardsmore was a police officer for 32 years, served the majority as a detective in the Leeds area, and also within the Child and Public Protection Unit, before becoming a civilian staff member.

He said: “I am obviously thrilled to receive national recognition for the work I do. However, both locally and nationally I am just one of a highly motivated and dedicated group of officers who are totally focused on protecting those individuals most vulnerable in our society today.”

Detective Chief Inspector Marianne Huison, head of the child and public protection unit who nominated him for the award said: “John’s commitment to ensuring that the might of the law is effectively used to protect the public from violent and sexual offenders is outstanding and I am delighted that his work has been recognised by this national award.”

The ViSOR database has been described as a user-friendly source of information which allows agencies to quickly share intelligence.

The database holds details of offenders and everyone involved in their management following their release from custody.

Mr Beardsmore, writing in 2008, said of ViSOR: “Now all the agencies are using the system we should be sharing far more detailed information regarding the offenders we are managing.

“The more we know about the offenders, the easier it will be for us to do our jobs well.”