A FORMER Solihull Police chief and the chair of West Midlands Police’s LGBT network have been honoured for their inspiring and ground-breaking work.
Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Alex Murray and PC Gary Stack have been honoured for the work they do at the force.
ACC Murray who started his career with the force in 1996, has received an OBE for his work in evidence-based policing.
The 41-year-old said: “Evidence-based policing is not about the type of evidence we use in court, but about the evidence around what really works in fighting crime.
“How do we understand what the actual effect of our action is? How do we link cause with effect? It allows police to be innovative because we can get a genuine understanding of the impact we are making.
“In the West Midlands this has allowed us to change the way we manage offenders, police hot-spots, road safety and even counter-terrorism.”
In 2009 ACC Murray and others started the Society of Evidence-Based Policing which aimed to promote this approach across the UK. It now has around 5,000 members including branches around the world in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
ACC Murray, who was Solihull’s top cop for 18-months from July 2014, said: “I was really surprised when I received the letter telling me I had been awarded the OBE.
“It is a credit to all those staff who have tried to work in an evidence-based way.
“I have worked with lots and lots of people in the police, in the College of Policing and in universities who are really committed to this approach and the benefits it can bring and I would like to say thank you to them all.”
College of Policing Director of Knowledge, Research and Education, Rachel Tuffin said: “On behalf of everyone at the College I would like to congratulate Alex Murray on his OBE, which is a tremendous honour which he thoroughly deserves.
“He has had a major personal impact on the development of the profession of policing through his passionate championing of an evidence-based approach.
“His innovative work puts integrity and leadership at the heart of evidence-based policing and inspires officers and staff to combine policing skills and knowledge with scientific methods to make a true profession.
“The College and Alex have worked closely for a number of years and his work supports our aims and has the potential to change the culture and leadership of policing at every level.”
PC Gary Stack works in the Birmingham Partnerships Team based in the city centre and received a British Empire Medal for Services to Policing and the Community in this year’s honours.
The 38-year-old, who has worked for WMP for 13 years, chairs the Force’s LGBT network and is also the force lead for sexual orientation hate crime.
He said: “It was a huge shock when I received the letter to say I had been honoured but I feel extremely moved to have been recognised in this way.
“It is so important that the LGBT community trust that they can report crime to us and it will be taken seriously. A large part of my role lies in building that trust and in my time here I have seen things improve enormously both in terms of equality and legislatively.
“I am very proud to have received the medal but I know we can never be complacent and both my work and that of the force will continue.”
Chief Superintendent Sally Bourner from WMP said: “‘PC Stack works tirelessly to protect the public and help his colleagues. His work on hate crime is helping to transform lives and his leadership of the LGBT Network as a volunteer is inspiring.
“He epitomises the values of public service in offering friendship, service and help to the public.
“His recognition is thoroughly deserved and we are so proud of him.”
