Operation Guardian was set up at the end of 2009, primarily to enhance the way Northamptonshire Police tackles burglaries in people’s homes, theft of and from cars, and robbery.

Since February 2010 teams of Police Staff who volunteered for the role have been taking part in the High Impact Days, which are at the forefront of the operation. The teams have been visiting local communities, either supporting crime reduction projects or talking to residents in their communities about Operation Guardian. These personal contacts make a significant impact, and have allowed us to spread the good news about Guardian to thousands of people we may not otherwise have been in contact with. The work has gone a long way to help the force achieve an excellent improvement in public confidence, and, more recently it was

extremely pleasing to hear that the force has achieved the best reductions nationally in the offences being tackled by the operation. We are well on the way to successfully achieving the testing targets we set ourselves last year.

Generally, those working as a Police Staff Volunteer have found it to be a both enjoyable and rewarding experience. If you go to the Guardian pages of Forcenet you will see much more information about exactly what is involved, including a few experiences in volunteers’ own words! The work carried out by the teams is pretty varied, and both a valuable and fundamental part of the operation. Remember it is also voluntary, so the commitment is very flexible!

More than 150 members of police staff have volunteered to work as a Guardian volunteer since the beginning of 2010. Chief Officers are delighted with the buy-in and commitment across the Force, both from those who have volunteered, and those who have made their contribution to the achievements through their daily role. If you would like to join the pool of volunteers, it would be great to hear from you via the Operation Guardian email address on ForceNet.

If you are interested in reading more about the operation, there is lots of information on Forcenet. By clicking on the Operation Guardian logo on the left hand side of the homepage you will see the first of several menus; by clicking on the links you can learn more about all aspects of the work taking place. There are details of the operational work, the successes, what happens on a High Impact Day, how it is planned, and much more.

Having recently taken over from Pete Windridge as Silver commander for Guardian, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members of Police Staff for their contribution, UNISON for their continuing support, and specifically the Police Staff Volunteers past and present for their involvement.

Ivan Balhatchet
Superintendent
Operation Guardian