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Merseyside Police Officer
awarded Queens Police Medal in Queen's 90th Birthday Honours
MERSEYSIDE Police Chief Constable Sir
Jon Murphy QPM has congratulated Assistant Chief Constable Ian Critchley and
former Detective Superintendent Tim Keelan who have been recognised in the
Queen's 90th Birthday Honours. Sir Jon Murphy QPM, said:- "I am absolutely
delighted to be able to congratulate both Tim and Ian, who have been recognised
for their service in policing with the Queens Police Medal. Tim recently retired
from the force after 30 years serving the public of Merseyside. Time and time
again Tim showed his dedication to his job and his professionalism, empathy and
compassionate nature shone through throughout his career. Tim was instrumental
in work undertaken with Mersey Care to set up a Triage car to provide a high
quality response and support for people with mental health problems, who come in
to contact with the Police; this work was recognised nationally and has been
rolled out by other Forces. After retiring Tim agreed to come back to force
working in the Academy at Mather Avenue, where he is able to draw on his
experience and learnings, where he is responsible for providing training to
officers around protecting vulnerable people. Tim has always been highly
regarded by his peers and colleagues and this is a fitting tribute to the
dedication he has shown throughout his career. I'm also delighted to be able to
congratulate Assistant Chief Constable Ian Critchley, who we welcomed in to the
ranks of Merseyside Police just 2 weeks ago. Ian has joined us from Lancashire
Police, where he had served for 24 years. Ian became a detective Sergeant in
Lancashire in 1999 and has worked his way through the investigation ranks. As a
Detective Superintendent he was Head of Crime with responsibility for public
protection, serious organised crime, homicide, counter terrorism, intelligence
and forensics. He took the lead for Lancashire Constabulary for Child Sexual
Exploitation, and represented the force both at a local and national level. Ian
has brought a wealth of knowledge with him to his new role here at Merseyside
and the award today is testimony to the dedication and commitment he has given
policing throughout the last 24 years. It is wonderful to see such professional
and passionate people recognised nationally for their services to the community
in such a prestigious way. They both have the upmost respect of their peers and
colleagues and their integrity and professionalism is evident and demonstrated
on a daily basis. All of Merseyside should be proud of their achievement, which
reflects so well on us all."
"On receiving the honour, Tim Keelan, said:- "I am absolutely thrilled to
have received this recognition. However, the award also reflects the hard work
and dedication of all those people who have assisted me and worked with me over
many years. I should also pay tribute to my family, who (like many Police
families) have been very understanding of the extended hours I've had to work on
many occasions, in order to see investigations through to their conclusion. I
would like to add that although I have worked on some high profile
investigations over the years, it's not necessarily the big investigations that
I'm really proud of. It's nice to know that as a Police Officer you can make a
massive difference to individual people. You can do things which massively
change their lives in a positive way and that's what I've really enjoyed. I'm
really proud to have served within Merseyside Police and having worked with
officers from many different police forces around the country I know that the
community here on Merseyside are well served by one of the best, if not the best
police forces across the UK."
After receiving his honour, ACC Ian Critchley, said:- "I am very humbled
by this award and want to share it with all the fantastic staff and partners who
work every day to help protect the public particularly the most vulnerable. I am
also very lucky to have a fantastic family who will equally be sharing in this
award. Our service continues to strive to protect vulnerable people from abuse
and the lifetime of hurt this causes and I want people to feel confident that
when abuse does occur that they can come forward confident in the service they
will get from the Police and our partners. I am most influenced in my role by
the hurt I see in victims of abuse and their families that never ever truly goes
away; by working together we can make a difference. I am very proud and
privileged to have worked in Lancashire Constabulary with some amazing
colleagues who have taught me a great deal and I am hugely committed to my new
role as Assistant Chief Constable and serving the communities of Merseyside.
This award reminds me of the privileged position I am in and the importance of
ensuring that I do all I can to support our staff and partners to work together
to make our communities safe places to live, where children can thrive and
fulfil their ambitions rather than be harmed by those who they should most
trust." |
