Excellence of TVP’s post incident managers recognised at Bravery Awards
Thames Valley Police’s post incident managers (PIM) cadre – a group of officers who manage post-incident procedures and support officers through some of their toughest times – has received the Excellence Award at the Thames Valley Police Federation Bravery Awards 2025.
PIM coordinator Detective Chief Inspector Nikki Hemming, Inspector Martyn Williams and Inspector Neil Applegarth will accept the award on behalf of 27 Thames Valley Police officers that form the PIM cadre.
The force said these officers show “consistent drive, commitment and unwavering dedication to supporting officers and police staff”.
“The post-incident process is critical for ensuring impartiality and transparency when there is an investigation into the discharge of a firearm or any death or serious injury at the hands of the state,” said Thames Valley Police. “The investigation into establishing the facts needs to be balanced with the needs and legal rights of those involved.
“The PIM role is voluntary and involves acting with empathy and sensitivity to support and guide police officers or staff members after potentially traumatic events.
“The role cannot be overestimated in terms of time, commitment and longevity, particularly in those cases that lead to a coronial or criminal investigation, which can take years.”
Officers at the rank of inspector or above who wish to become a PIM attend a national course run by the Police Firearms Officers Association (PFOA), which they must successfully pass and then re-accredit every three to five years. Each year they must undertake CPD to maintain accreditation.
Det Chief Insp Hemming coordinates the cadre along with her deputy Detective Inspector Dom (Dominique) Muldoon, and links into the chief officer, Assistant Chief Constable Christian Bunt.
She said: “The job the PIM cadre does is really important. We have to facilitate and manage an open and transparent post-incident process and secure people’s evidence in the best way that we can, that withstands scrutiny for all those involved – including members of the public or the family if they’re involved, and for the IOPC.”
She added: “We do all that while supporting officers’ wellbeing and welfare. We need to make sure that people feel valued and supported in that process so that we can get the best out of them, but also so that they understand why we’re doing what we’re doing.
“We have quarterly CPD meetings, and we debrief every incident that we deploy to, as early as we can, to take maximum learning out of it. So there’s a lot of ongoing training and awareness, and making sure that we make it the best possible process. We’re really lucky that we have some incredible people on the team, who do it because they have an overwhelming drive to support their colleagues.
“And our work doesn’t stop once we’ve got the evidence. We support the officer all the way through to a court or coronial process and beyond.”
Insp Applegarth was the PIM for Operation Infuse. The incident happened in 2021, but the investigation did not finish until early 2024.
Det Chief Insp Hemming said: “It was a really long time to manage and support those officers, which Neil did incredibly well. It’s a massive weight on your shoulders, because you’re the person that they go to for updates, and you manage the delivery of what might be not the best news.”
Following the tragic death of PC Andrew Harper, the PIP cadre also provided welfare and wellbeing support to officers involved in the incident. After that, Assistant Chief Constable Christian Bunt brought in the Welfare Bronze role, which operates on a 24/7 on-call rota to help officers and staff who are not necessarily in the PIP process but who need welfare support.
When she heard that the PIM cadre had won a Thames Valley Police Federation Excellence Award, Det Chief Insp Hemming said: “I’m so proud of my team. If I could wrap up a bag of hugs and give it to them, that’s how I feel. I’m proud because everybody wants to do the job and everybody has that inbuilt desire to support their colleagues and teams in Thames Valley Police. We never have an issue filling the rota, and everybody brings something to the table. Only a few of us can go and accept the award, but the award is for the whole team because what they do, day in, day out, is amazing.”
Insp Williams added: “We’re the biggest non-metropolitan police force area. We’ve got big towns, vast rural communities, big public order events, lots of custody suites and a lot of prisoners going through the doors. That increases the chances of situations where, unfortunately, tragedies will occur.
“Most people don’t know about the PIP process until they find themselves within it, and then it’s a bit too late. So we are trying to demystify it. I’m the longest-serving PIM we have in TVP. I’ve been in it for nine years, and I have seen the growth of the cadre, which ultimately gives officers more support.”
Thames Valley Police Federation chair Aileen O’Connor said: “I cannot overstate how hard our PIM officers work, and the time, energy and empathy they put into their roles. We are very proud of them and they are deserving winners of this award.”
Det Chief Insp Hemming, Det Insp Muldoon, Insp Williams and Insp Applegarth, representing the force’s PIM Cadre, attended the 2025 Thames Valley Police Federation Bravery Awards on May 1. Pictured with Deputy Chief Constable Ben Snuggs, Federation secretary Gary Bishop and Ed Stojanovic from sponsors Accord.
The Thames Valley Police Federation Bravery Awards were in association with The Thames Valley Police Group Insurance Scheme.
Also sponsoring the awards was Number5 Chambers, The National Police Healthcare Scheme, Uniform Mortgages, Niche, Serve and Protect Credit Union, Metfriendly, Accord, Police Mortgages, Flint House, Number1 Copperpot Credit Union and Police Mutual.