Victims and survivors at heart of outstanding work

The National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection (NCVPP) has announced the winners in their annual recognition event. Designed to recognise outstanding work across policing and those we work in partnership with, the winners include a ground-breaking stalking unit, a survivors’ network and a safeguarding initiative that creates safe spaces in communities.

The event took place on 27 January 2026 and saw over 100 people attending to commend the winners and runners up for the six categories which included: improving police culture, making spaces safer and keeping vulnerable people and communities safe.

More than 75 entries were received, and the winners were selected through a series of panels which included judges from the specialist sector and academic experts.

All winning entries had to demonstrate how they built innovation into their activity, how their approach was victim-centred and the impact it has had, and will continue to have, in tackling violence against women and girls and keeping the public safe.

Judges were impressed with the quality of the entries, praising officers, staff and volunteers who listened to victims and survivors, and then shaped their activity accordingly.

DAC Helen Millichap KPM is Director of the National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection. She said: 

“It’s been an honour to award these brilliant police officers, staff, volunteers and partners today. Hearing the inspirational citations about their work, which tackles violence against women and girls and protects the public, reminds us all of the importance of the task we are undertaking and the great work that is already happening across the country that we can build on.

“I want to thank everyone who helped us select the winners, and also those who nominated the brilliant work we have seen across every category. Spotting and sharing outstanding activity is what creates change that reaches beyond individual projects and allows us to influence national policing. Most of all I am grateful to all of those, winners or not, who are steadfastly making a difference to the public and to victims of crime, often out of sight and too often not celebrated.”

Ellen Miller is Chief Executive of Safe Lives. She said:

“I have been part of this reward and recognition event since its inception three years ago and I’ve been able to see how police forces have strengthened their approach. I’ve also seen the breadth of activity underway to tackle violence against women and girls and protect the public from harm.

“SafeLives is dedicated to ending domestic abuse, and policing has a critical role to play in helping survivors get safety and justice. The work recognised today shows what’s possible when forces listen to victims, work alongside specialist partners, and respond with consistency, care and professionalism. We need to see this approach embedded everywhere, with robust standards, trauma-informed practice, effective risk assessment, multi-agency action and clear accountability so perpetrators are identified, challenged and stopped - and survivors are believed, protected and supported to recover.”

Jess Phillips is Minister for Safeguarding and Violence against Women and Girls. She said:

 “A woman is killed by a man on average every three days in the UK. That’s why the work of the police is so vital to tackle abusers and protect victims from harm. 

“These awards celebrate officers who refuse to look away from that reality, so thank you to all those officers who dedicate their lives to protecting the public.

“But this mission continues with the launch of our new VAWG strategy. We will deploy the full power of the state to make this country safe for women and girls.” 

See the full list of finalists commended below:

Category 1 - Collaborative working leading to victim-centred investigations

Winner - Harm Reduction Unit (Cheshire Constabulary)

Runner-up – Homicide Investigation Team (West Midlands Police)

Category 2 - Improving police culture and conduct within forces

Winner – The Survivor’s Network (Dorset Police)

Runner-up – Surrey Police Communications Team

Category 3 - Suspect focused initiatives and/or investigations

Winner – Detective Sergeant Chloe Wilson (Metropolitan Police)

Runner-up – Detective Chief Inspector Brett Harris (Suffolk Police)

Category 4 - Keeping vulnerable people and communities safe

Winner – NPCC Vulnerability Communications Hub (Child Sexual Exploitation Taskforce)

Runner-up – Sussex Police Detective Superintendent Karrie Bohanna, Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Cooper, Detective Constable Owen Watkins, Detective Constable Vicki Blythe.

Category 5 - Making spaces safer

Winner – The Pineapple Project (Dorset Council)

Runner-up – Phil Ashford (Hydrant Programme)

Category 6 - Special recognition

Winner – Operation Satin (Northamptonshire Police and OPFCC)

Runner-up – Yasmin Akhtar (Go-Women Alliance & Count Me In)