Bedfordshire Police

It takes great people skills, training, care and stamina to field 999 calls – and Bedfordshire Police Call Handler Debbie Mawdsley has the lot. Debbie works challenging and often fast-moving 12 hour shifts for the force, but she wouldn’t change her job for the world. Here’s why… Source

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire is warning of "funding Armageddon" for the county's force. Source

Police dealing with an "unprecedented" number of migrants say hundreds of arrests were made at or near a single M1 lorry stop. More than 400 immigration arrests have been made across Bedfordshire's road network and services since 2010. More than 80% were made at or near the Toddington Services on the M1 north of Luton, the force says. Police say the service area is often the first place lorry drivers stop for a break after coming in through Dover. The total number of immigration offence arrests across Bedfordshire shot up 83% - from 213 to 389 - during the first eight months of 2015, compared with the same period last year. It is the largest rise of any of the countie…

Bedfordshire Police is urging people to be careful on the roads after a number of serious collisions occurred in the last fortnight. Since last Monday (September 14), there have been five fatal collisions, and three other collisions resulting in serious injuries. The fatal collisions took place in Dunstable, Toddington, Biggleswade, Bromham and on the A421 near Shortstown and the non-fatal, but serious, collisions occurred in Turvey and Luton. Inspector Bob Turner, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire Roads Policing Unit, said: "It has been an incredibly tragic week on the county's roads and our thoughts are very much with all of those involved in t…

A Special Constable from Bedfordshire has won a prestigious volunteering award, after becoming the UK’s first Special Constable Dog Handler following a battle with Cystic Fibrosis and a successful double lung transplant. Special Constable John Power, 30, was honoured at the Lord Ferrers Awards 2015 (previously known as the Special Constabulary and Volunteer Awards) at the Houses of Parliament. John, accompanied by Police Dog Charlie, received the Special Constable Overcoming Adversity award from the Home Secretary. The awards highlight the vital role volunteers play in support of policing, by giving up their free time to make communities safer and enhancing the effe…

Bedfordshire Police have entered a period of staff consultation on a proposal to close five enquiry offices from January 2016. The proposal, which is part of a £1/4m savings initiative, would see the closure of enquiry offices at police stations in Houghton Regis, Biggleswade, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard and Flitwick. Nonetheless community policing teams will continue to be based at these stations and it will still be possible to be seen at these stations be appointment. In addition, Biggleswade and Dunstable will continue to host those officers who respond to emergency calls from the public. Enquiry offices at Luton Police Station and Greyfriars Police Station will rem…

After firearms officer PC Darren Clawson’s son Hadley spent six months fighting for his life at Great Ormond Street Hospital he vowed to do everything he could to support the charity. Since then the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Armed Policing Unit officer has carried out a range of gruelling endurance races and has raised a staggering £250,000 for the hospital. Now the 39-year-old is hoping to double that total by attempting his hardest challenge so far – rowing 2,400 miles from California to Hawaii in a bid to set a new world record. He will be joined by Hertfordshire PC Arron Worbey and two friends, Matt Knight, from Nottingham, and Raf Shildermans,…

A regional team has recovered more than £500,000 from criminals in the past five months. The Eastern Region Asset Confiscation Enforcement (ACE) team which was launched in October last year, works with a number of law enforcement agencies to recover proceeds of crime from offenders. Based within the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), the team works on behalf of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk forces and a number of partner agencies including Trading Standards and the Environment Agency. Since April 2015 the ACE team has recovered £518,271 in funds which will be divided between victims of crime, the Home Office and fo…

Well over a thousand people flocked to Bedfordshire Police’s Kempston Headquarters for the force’s Family Fun Day on Saturday (5 September). The Family Fun Day was a chance for the public to find out more about the force with stands and displays from a number of different Police functions and units including the Dog Unit, Cyber Hub, Scientific Services and Community Cohesion, providing an insight into the very varied roles within policing. A variety of emergency response vehicles were on hand to provide a welcome attraction to those wanting to sit in a response car, on a police motorbike or even in the back of a police van. There was also a visit from a fire engine an…

Far too often we hear stories about missing fathers, mothers, daughters and sons and our hearts go out to the families who are waiting for them to return home. But we don't often consider those who drop everything - work, family gatherings, days out - to help bring missing people home. The Midshires Search and Rescue team was established in 1999, and helps the police and fire services in lowlands search and rescue. In 2012/13 in Bedfordshire 2,608 people were reported missing, according to the National Crime Agency's Missing Persons Bureau. Thankfully, the majority of these people turn up of their own accord. But a significant number do not, and this is where this spe…

The mother of late Luton teenager Marcus Hall has spoken out following the sentencing of a sixth man in connection with his murder. Adebayo Ekun pleaded guilty to his part in the brutal gang attack in March 2001 following an international manhunt tracing him to Nigeria, and was today jailed for life with a minimum term of 10 years. Marcus mother Icelyn Wilson, 55, issued the below statement about his conviction. “The impact of the death of my son Marcus, has been soul-destroying on me and my family. “I have to cope with day-to-day life knowing that I will never get to see my son again. “The impact on my immediate family, especially my other son who was 14 years old…

Police are warning residents of Bedfordshire to be vigilant after a man was fraudulently conned out of thousands of pounds. The man, who lives in Houghton Regis, was visited by two men on 10 August who explained that they noticed his roof needed repairing. The man gave the men the money to do the work and was subsequently visited by several further men, all purporting to be workmen and demanding that the man gave them a large amount of money. The men claimed to be from a company called Elite Roofing and Building Solutions. PC Donna Jackson-English, investigating, said: “This is a truly despicable series of frauds whereby the offenders have conned a man out of a signif…