Alumni Impact Awards: Brilliant Investigation, West Midlands Police
Wednesday 4th October 2023
Detective Constable Georgia Waldron has been recognised at Police Now’s national Alumni Impact Awards for her brilliant investigative work during a stranger rape case, resulting in a life sentence for the violent offender.
The annual Alumni Impact Awards celebrate the achievements of officers across England and Wales who have graduated from Police Now’s two-year programmes and have gone above and beyond to reduce crime, support their communities and build public trust and confidence in policing.
Eight officers from forces across England and Wales were recognised at the awards ceremony on Friday 22nd September, at Cutler’s Hall in Sheffield. The awards were presented by Police Now’s Chief Executive Officer Kurtis Christoforides and members of the Police Now HQ team.
WINNER: Brilliant Investigation, Detective Constable Georgia Waldron
Detective Constable Georgia Waldron was the Officer in Charge for a violent stranger rape investigation, which was later covered on BBC’s CSI: The Real Forensics.
Georgia, who joined West Midlands Police in 2021 via Police Now’s National Detective Programme, led the complex investigation and delivered exceptional support to the victim. As a result, the offender was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 12 years behind bars.
Following the horrific incident, when a young woman was dragged into a derelict house and subjected to an hour-long attack, Georgia and her colleagues in the Criminal Investigation Department worked to collect and analyse CCTV and ring-doorbell footage, audio evidence, and forensic evidence including DNA samples and fingerprints. With support from the incredibly brave victim, the team were able to identify, arrest and interview a suspect.
DC Georgia Waldron, who studied Media and Marketing at the University of Leicester and worked as a waitress before joining the service, said: “My priority was to support and secure justice for a young woman who had gone through the most traumatic event of her life. She showed incredible bravery throughout the investigation and her support has allowed us to remove a dangerous individual from the streets. She showed immense foresight by convincing her attacker that she would keep quiet if he paid her cash, which allowed us to obtain his fingerprints from the banknote. This case was a great example of a team coming together to build a casefile and secure charges swiftly, while the suspect was still in custody.”
Jen Brierley-Masheter, Georgia’s Police Now Performance and Development Coach who nominated her for the award, said: “I am so incredibly proud of Georgia and all she has achieved. Not just in this case, which has captured public attention, but in all her cases. She is always focused on delivering exceptional care and support to victims and uses evidence-based policing and her policing network to secure results. She shows maturity beyond her years, works with Police Now’s mission in mind and demonstrates exceptional leadership every day.”
