A police constable from Bicester has been voted the Community Officer of the year for Oxfordshire.

Caroline Brown is the Community Officer for Bicester and she helped introduce the Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) to her area.

The NAG is a group consisting of relevant partner agencies, key stakeholders and, most importantly, members of the local community which works to resolve the problems identified by local residents.

She went so far as to run this on her own during the time when the neighbourhood team had no sergeant.

One resident said: “She is certainly the best police officer this community has ever had.”

The Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) of the year for Oxfordshire was Jacqueline Madden, of Thame.

One resident said: “She has engaged with the community better than any other; she and her team have helped make the area feel safe.”

The volunteer of the year was Bill Collins who has been a volunteer with Thames Valley Police for more than five years.

Prior to this, he was a Special Constable for 20 years, and it was when he retired from the Special Constabulary that he joined the Police Volunteers Support Team (PVST) so that he could continue to help the community.

He has tackled a number of roles including: acting as a role player in assessment days at headquarters and Aylesbury, attending volunteer introductions to talk to new volunteers about the Special Constabulary, assisting the Special Constabulary administrator for Buckinghamshire, helping as a roads policing volunteer at Amersham and even working on cars in the workshop at Wynsham.

He has also undertaken various driving courses that now allow him to pick up and drop off police vehicles. A colleague said: “He has a sense of humour that cheers everyone up – he is truly a fine example of the extended police family.”