Our third nominee for Community Police Officer of the Year is PC James Sanderson.

An officer based in the south of the island, Mr Sanderson was nominated for his ability to go above and beyond in his role.

He was nominated by Deborah Galley, a Castletown resident, who said: ‘Not only does he help to keep an eye on one of our sons, who is classed as a vulnerable adult, but keeps us informed of anything to do with him that he thinks as parents we need to know.

‘If anything needs to be explained to us or [our son] about his life he does this in a really friendly, sympathetic manner.

‘Any worries I have I am always welcome to go to the station for a chat and hot drink.’

Not only this but Ms Galley explained he has often given her advice on safety when it comes to fraudsters as well as generally looking out for the ‘welfare of the family’.

She described the nomination as ‘well deserved’ and explained he often gives talks on various issues affecting the community which she believes are ‘well received’.

Mr Sanderson said of the nomination: ‘I’m quite proud I suppose, I’m just doing my job, it’s good that I’m one of the community officers so we’re afforded that little bit of extra time and more opportunity to go that extra bit further.

‘I’ve done lots of work with Deb Galley and her family.

‘It’s just having discussions with them really and having that friendly community face that they trust, I can go round and talk to them about anything.’

The community police officer transferred from the Metropolitan Police after 14 years in the service in April 2019.

‘You didn’t get that opportunity at all to do community policing. I came here and wanted to go that kind of way,’ Mr Sanderson said.

He added: ‘Covid interrupted my job massively.

‘I was sent back to response policing so community policing stopped, I still maintained contact with Deb Galley because I was lucky enough to remain south so I had the opportunity to link in, albeit not as regularly as I would have done.’

When asked why he felt community policing was so important, Mr Sanderson felt people needed to see a friendly face.

He said: ‘People see that friendly face and anyone in uniform they feel they can approach them. I want them to feel they can come to speak to us about anything.’

In terms of policing in the south, he felt he had a ‘vested interest’ since he is from Castletown.

‘I tend to do Castletown, Port Erin and Port St Mary.

‘It’s a good community kind of vibe down here, compared to policing in the UK, everybody knows everybody, so I think people really look out for each other.’

He also gives talks in primary schools.

‘I walk into a primary school and introduce myself as PC Jim and it’s just building that relationship with the youth, you’re not going to see immediate effects but hopefully it builds that relationship up with police as a whole,’ he continued.