Police inspector wins Thames Valley Inspiration Award
A Thames Valley Police Office who has helped colleagues back on their feet following physical injury or mental illness has won the annual Thames Valley Police Federation Inspiration Award.
Inspector Damien Isherwood is a trustee of the charity Pilgrim Bandits, which helps rebuild the lives and careers of police officers and army servicemen by accompanying them on confidence boosting events.
Inspector Isherwood attended an Awards Ceremony in the Thames Valley Policing area on March 5 where he was celebrated by senior officers, colleagues and politicians.
Pilgrim Bandits, via the Curtis Palmer Programme, recognises the dangerous and often stressful work carried out by the Policing Family and seeks to help those affected.
The Curtis Palmer Programme is named after a police officer The Pilgrim Bandits helped. The officer had a brain tumour and his dying wish was to do a parachute jump. Originally the charity was just for army personnel, but Damien highlighted it could be beneficial to police officers.
Some of the confidence-boosting adventures on offer include once in a lifetime trips kayaking down the Yukon River or taking on marathon bike rides in New Zealand.
David Isherwood said: “It’s about supporting officers in any way we can to get them on the road to recovery and allowing them to feel invigorated.
“I noticed that police officers and army personnel have so much in common and so much to learn from each other, so I spoke to the charity’s CEO and we are now helping police officers.”
