Covert Surveillance & Process Serving Specialists
Prestige Manned Guarding Operatives in Merseyside, Manchester and throughout the North-West
Head Office: The Lodge, Edwards Lane, Hunts Cross, Liverpool L24 9HW
Midlands Office: 43 Temple Row, Birmingham B2 5LS
For All Enquiries Please Telephone 0845 520 7777
PRESS RELEASE - MERSEYSIDE CRIMESTOPPERS ANNUAL AWARDS 2010
At a gala awards ceremony last Thursday night, the Merseyside Crimestoppers charity, in partnership with the Liverpool Echo announced the region’s Crimestoppers for 2010.
The city centre Liner Hotel was the venue for this inaugural ceremony to recognise and honour the unsung heroes from our communities who stand up to criminals and help to make the region safer for all of us.
After voting by ECHO readers, the crime fighting charity were able to honour two residents who others put forward as going above and beyond the call of duty.
Norris Green resident Allan Devon was crowned the first ever Merseyside Crimestopper.
Father of two Mr Devon, 63, is a well known face around the north Liverpool suburb as the chair of the local Credit Union. The nominations put forward for him told of the suffering he has faced at the hands of yobs he has stood up to but he refuses to let them win. In the words of those who voted for him, Mr Devon was said to be a “modest, caring, honest man, held in the highest esteem by decent people in our area who he has been helping for years.” When he stood up against local yobs, he became the target and has suffered years’ of hell with three cars trashed outside his house, paving slabs and paint thrown through his window and threats he will be shot or his home will be petrol bombed.
The runner-up award was given to St Helens resident Lynn Arnold.
Mrs Arnold was put forward after working tirelessly on her estate to get her neighbourhood involved in projects and keep community spirit alive. Since she gave evidence that helped secure Asbos against a group of yobs, she too found herself the target of their attentions but that, she said, only stiffened her resolve. Sandra Johnson from the North West Ambulance Service was the Echo reader’s choice as the Merseyside Public Sector Crimestopper of the Year. Her award was presented by the Arena and Convention Centre, Liverpool.
In addition to the awards for these community crime-fighters, business sectors honoured teams and individuals who had gone beyond the call of duty in the line of duty. Town and City Pub Co sponsored two awards for evening economy workers. Ray Kerr from Sherlocks night club in Birkenhead was recognised for his energetic support of the Birkenhead Pub Watch whilst door security supervisor Barry Crawford was recognised for twenty years of meritorious service at night clubs in Liverpool city centre.
In the retail economy Home Bargain’s James Sweetin presented awards to the St Helens Council CCTV team for their meticulous support of local businesses.
In Birkenhead, security Guard Stephen Heycocks was singled out for high praise when he went to the assistance of an 80 year old female victim of pickpockets. His actions were instrumental in the offenders being arrested and some of the old lady’s possessions recovered.
Judges were unable to split the Liverpool nominations and Will Freeman-Dunn and Ian Pugh were jointly presented with the award. Both men work for Probe Security at different city centre jewellery shops and in separate incidents, bravely and professionally withstood violent attacks from criminal gangs.
The Shop Direct Fraud Prevention team won the Transactis award for the Fraud Crimestoppers of the Year after successfully bringing to book a number of professional fraudsters.
The Security Industry Authority presented an award to the licenced Security Guard of the Year. This was won by the team of Sean Helpert, John Harachi, Jimmy Lyons and Mark Harris from the MITIE security team at Alder Hey Hospital. The men broke up a fight between two drunken fathers, one armed with a broken bottle, the other with a knife.
The final award for a special contribution to crime reduction in Liverpool city centre, popular former night economy manager, Joe Curran, won the Famous Grapes Award. Joe was honoured for the many innovations he introduced, such as conflict resolution for bar staff, over a five year period.
Ian MacDonald, chair of Merseyside Crimestoppers, said: “We had a great response to our awards and to see the amount of people here who take pride and do what they can in their community is very heartening indeed. “Crimestoppers relies on the public to do their duty. We are not the police but by picking up the phone and ringing us, you too can do your bit to keep our streets safer as these people have.”
FULL LIST OF WINNERS FROM THE NIGHT
1. Best performing police division for Crimestoppers call conversion rate
Winner - LIVERPOOL SOUTH
2. Retail Crime Stopper of the Year sponsored by Home Bargains
St Helens - ST HELENS CCTV TEAM
Wirral - Birkenhead security guard STEPHEN HEYCOCKS who apprehended a pair of muggers targeting elderly ladies in a shopping centre
Liverpool joint winners - WILL FREEMAN-DUNN and IAN PUGH,
both Probe Security guards who stood up to armed robbers at two city
centre jewellers
3. Financial Crime Stopper of the Year sponsored by Transactis
Winner - FRAUD TEAM AT SHOP DIRECT
4. SIA Crime Stoppers of the Year
Winner - SEAN HELBERT, JOHN HARACHI, JIMMY LYONS & MARK HARRIS from Mitie who were confronted by drunken, armed, fighting dads at Alder Hey Hospital
5. Night time Economy Crime Stopper of the Year sponsored by Town and City Pub Company
Wirral - RAY KERR, from Sherlocks, Birkenhead
Liverpool - BARRY CRAWFORD, one of the city’s most well-known doormen
6. Public Sector Crime Stopper of the Year sponsored by the Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool
Winner - SANDRA JOHNSON from the North West Ambulance Service
7. Special Liverpool City Centre award sponsored by the Famous Grapes
Winner - JOE CURRAN
8. Merseyside Crime Stopper of the Year sponsored by the Liverpool ECHO
Winner - ALLAN DEVON, from Norris Green
Runner up - LYNN ARNOLD, from St Helens