Communication and Engagement team crowned best in country

Derbyshire Constabulary’s Communication and Engagement team has been crowned best Communications / Digital team, at a national awards ceremony.

The UnAwards, which took place in Birmingham on Friday (6 December), had seen the team nominated in two categories – the Best Communications / Digital team, which went out to a public vote; and the Best Crisis Communication award, which was judged by the awards panel.

Competing in the Best Communications / Digital team category against 11 other organisations, including the DVLA, Scottish Water, Dorset Health, Liverpool Council and Dorset Council, more than 5000 public votes were received.

A joint entry for Derbyshire Constabulary, Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service and Derbyshire County Council was submitted for the Best Crisis Communication category.

Shortlisted alongside the Hadlow Group Marketing and Communications team, Wiltshire Council and Wiltshire Police, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and the Growth Company Group Marketing team; the entry was judged to have been the best.

Both entries related to the huge effort that the force and the Communication and Engagement team went to during the unprecedented Whaley Bridge dam incident in August 2019.

Donna Jordan, Strategic Head of Communication and Engagement, said: “I would like to thank all those who supported the team in the public vote. Whaley Bridge was an incident like no other that we have had to deal with in Derbyshire. Ensuring the residents, public, media and our partners were warned and informed was an essential part of our role.

“While I was extremely proud of the team and all they achieved, it was great to be shortlisted in both the best team and crisis communication categories, against some really strong competitors. It reinforces the recognition that the team deserve for what they did, the long hours and the vitally important information that we gave out.

“To then win, is absolutely brilliant, and I know how much this will mean to the team, the force and the people of Derbyshire, especially those residents of Whaley Bridge, who were evacuated from their homes.