Retired member of Northamptonshire Police awarded the MBE

A former Northamptonshire Police officer and police staff member, Shaun Johnson, has been awarded the MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

This honour has been awarded to Shaun for his services to policing in the county, where he served just shy of half a century with the county Force – 30 years as an officer and 17 years as a member of staff.

As a qualified engineer, Shaun decided to follow in the footsteps of his Great Uncle Ted and in 1974, the 19-year-old from Corby joined Northamptonshire Police as a police constable.

He initially served his two-year probation at Wellingborough Police Station, before moving to the rural sector where he became embedded into the local community, living on his beat.

In the early 1980s he was drafted in to support colleagues in the policing of the notorious inner-city riots and miners’ disputes across the country, before returning to Wellingborough in 1986, to take up a role in CID.

During his time as a detective – a role he really wanted to do – Shaun, worked on various major investigations, for which he received numerous Chief Constable Commendations.

Towards the end of his 30-years’ service as a police officer, Shaun qualified as a CHIS (covert human intelligence source) handler and took over the role of Police Intelligence Officer at HMP Wellingborough.

In this role, Shaun managed an attempted murder investigation which required the removal of 150 inmates to other prisons – which was hailed a brilliant example of partnership working by the Home Office.

Within 12 months, he recovered £250,000 of drugs (prison value), implemented a new drug strategy and the National Intelligence Model, and HMP Wellingborough became one of the most successful prisons in the UK.

This led to Shaun joining the National Source Working Group for the management of CHIS in prisons, as well as delivering training to prisons in Northern Ireland and lecturing at Prison Service College.

He implemented and oversaw several covert operations, recruited CHIS for other agencies including the security services and worked with Special Branch following the emergence of radicalisation within UK prisons.

His work within the prison service earned him various commendations and letters of appreciation, and he was also instrumental in creating the High Offender Partnership Enterprise Project.

In 2004, Shaun received a Chief Constable Commendation for exemplary conduct during his 30 years’ service as a police officer and was nominated by the Force for a Lifetime Achievement in Policing Award.

After briefly considering retirement, Shaun continued his service with the Force as a member of police staff where he served in various roles before joining the Arson Task Force in 2008.

He continued to receive recognition for his tireless work serving the communities across the county and was awarded various commendations from both police and fire chief officers.

His work with secondary schools in Wellingborough in 2009 helped reduce wheelie bin fires in the town by 50 per cent within 12 months, and the project became the forerunner of the very successful County Schools Challenge.

Shaun’s passion for education and community safety was instrumental during his time with the Arson Task Force, which saw him raise more than £100,000 for local community projects across the county over the past decade.

He became involved with the charity Crimestoppers in 2009 and continued to be a member of the Northamptonshire committee following his retirement from the Force last summer.

Speaking about his MBE, Shaun said: “It’s a great honour to receive this award, not only for me but also for my family. My wife has been an integral part of my success, supporting me through the good, and of course the bad times

“I also feel very humbled that, with so much fantastic work going on in the county, that I have been awarded such an accolade, and thoroughly enjoyed my time with Northamptonshire Police.

“I’ve had the privileged of working with some wonderful, dedicated people within the Force, Fire Service and the wider community. And you simply don’t get awards like this without the support of other colleagues and partners.”

Chief Constable Nick Adderley said: “Shaun has dedicated his life to helping the people of Northamptonshire, with a career spanning nearly five decades both as a police officer and latterly as a member of staff.

“His career as an officer was varied and makes for a fascinating read, but what stands out the most is Shaun’s desire and commitment for positive change. And at the heart of all his dedication and hard work, and everything he has achieved, has been his passion to improve the lives of the people of Northamptonshire.

“Shaun retired from Northamptonshire Police after 47 years’ service last summer and I’m thrilled he has been awarded an MBE in recognition of the work he did helping to protect people from harm and keep them safe, it is very much deserved.”