Two Dounreay officers recognised and rewarded by Chief Constable

Two officers based at Dounreay received prestigious awards from Chief Constable Simon Chesterman this week in recognition of their long service and good conduct.

Supt Andy Peden, who is Operational Unit Commander (OUC) at Dounreay, received a Certificate of Service, having joined us in 1980. PC Brian Watson received the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal for 21 years’ service, having joined in July 1999 and served 21 years.

Andy joined the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, formerly the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary (UKAEAC) at Sellafield in 1980 as a PC. During his time with the Constabulary, he served on the road escort team and marine escort team (now Strategic Escort Group), travelling on operations as far afield as Japan, and was part of the first rapid intervention team, before being promoted to Inspector and moving to Capenhurst in 2000.

While at Capenhurst, Andy took over as temporary force firearms officer for a year and was instrumental in getting us our first ever firearms license. He was promoted to Chief Inspector in Ops Support in 2008 and covered a wide portfolio area, including the drafting of our first ever STRA. In 2012 he was temporarily promoted to Superintendent for ops support and S Division for a year and took up his current posting as the OUC for Dounreay in July 2019.

During his time with the Constabulary, he has received commendations for his role in our first Op Temperer deployment and for his work creating the Operational Improvement Unit and improving deployability up to highs of 95 per cent.

PC Brian Watson joined on 5th July 1999 on Initial Recruits Course 158, earning the Endeavour Award. He was then posted to Dounreay and in 2001 he became a General Purpose (GP) Police Dog Handler partnered with Police Dog Jack, a white German Shephard.

Brian has continued in this role ever since and has successfully completed training courses with a number of General Purpose and Explosives Search Detection Dogs, which is a testament to his dedication and excellent dog handling skills. Over the years he has been privileged enough to work with several dogs, including Bailey, a German Shepherd GP Police Dog and Alfie an English Springer Spaniel and Explosives Search Detection Dog who worked up until his well-earned retirement at 12 years old. He currently handles Dio, a Belgian Malinois GP Police Dog and Labrador Mindy, an Explosives Search Detection Dog. Over the years Brian has supported the puppy walking programme, initially with Sammy, who went on to become an Explosives Search Detection Dog and now has the responsibility for preparing trainee Police Dog Jaxx, a Belgian Malinois for his Initial GP Course later this year.

Chief Constable Simon Chesterman said: “It was a privilege to reward these two long serving and dedicated police officers. During their time with the CNC and UKAEAC they have both specialised in their chosen fields and had long and satisfying careers as a result.

“It was good to be able to thank them personally for their service and I greatly enjoyed meeting Police Dog Dio. It shows that the CNC offers so many opportunities and rewards for those who want a varied and challenging role protecting critical national infrastructure.”

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