A North Wales Police officer has won a national award for her leadership work in helping to tackle violence against women and girls in Wrexham.
Inspector Claire McGrady, North Wales Police’s Violence Against Women and Girls tactical delivery manager, won the leadership category at the Violence Against Women and Girls National Recognition event held in London on Wednesday.
She was the only officer in Wales to have received an award.
The event is the first to be held by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing to recognise the work of police officers, staff and volunteers tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG).
Inspector McGrady was commended for the impact her work has had on the streets of Wrexham, in providing a safer environment for women and girls over the past three years, which has led to a marked increase in reported serious sexual offences.
She has been successful in securing almost £1million in funding for Wrexham from the Home Office as part of the Safer Streets initiative and the Safety of Women at Night (SWAN), which funded covering the installation and upgrades of new CCTV and lighting sites in the city centre and ensuring poorly lit arterial pedestrian routes through the city centre had better coverage.
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Inspector McGrady was also recognised for leading on bystander training with all licenced premises in the city and her work with police on patrols to identify vulnerable females and make them safe at night.
The Inspector said: "I'm really humbled, honoured and many other descriptive words to say how proud I am that I'm receiving this award.
"Without all of the partners who've been involved in the many projects that I've been involved in, I wouldn't be here today.
"Violence against women and girls is truly embedded in everything that we do.
"It features at every step that a police office takes and it's something that the force takes extremely seriously to ensure that we're providing the best service to our customers."
Chief Superintendent Jason Devonport, VAWG lead for North Wales Police, said: “Claire has been an inspiration to so many colleagues and stakeholders across a number of years as she dedicates herself to the work in making the streets of Wrexham safer.
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“I am extremely proud to be working with Claire and her dedication to this area of policing.
“She has set many examples of accountability and having a tenacious approach to solving problems, this award is a true reflection of her leadership, both with peers and senior managers as she has a quality to encourage and promote activities which she believes will add value.”
The event was developed and judged jointly by police forces and representatives from charities including SafeLives, Suzy Lamplugh Trust and Karma Nirvana, alongside the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, Nicole Jacobs, and police staff associations.
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