Sussex sergeant honoured nationally for her work with families after fatal collisions
A Sussex sergeant has won a national award after responding to more than 170 injury collisions over a decade.
Sergeant Stacey Ellott, of the Sussex Roads Policing Unit, was nominated in the ‘Front Line Hero of the Year – Roads Policing’ category.
The news was shared by Sussex Police. A spokesperson said: “An experienced officer has received a national award for going above and beyond the call of duty.
“She collected her award at the joint UK Road Offender Education and National Police Chiefs’ Council ceremony on October 14.”
Sergeant Ellott was nominated by inspector Matt Wightwick, of the Surrey and Sussex Roads Policing Unit.
He said: “Stacey is an RPU (Roads Policing Unit) officer through and through. She joined the department shortly after her probation ended, was promoted to sergeant on RPU and has remained on roads policing ever since.
“Her roads policing knowledge is without equal, and she is known across the force as one of the ‘go to traffic people’ to answer queries for other teams.
“In the last ten years, Stacey has deployed to over 170 injury collisions – over 120 of these have involved very serious injuries or fatalities.
"This is in addition to the other investigations she has supervised on the Serious Collisions Investigation Unit (SCIU). Despite the undoubted trauma and pressure that comes with being a lead investigator at such incidents, Stacey will always prioritise the wellbeing of the team that attend these matters – taking time to contact officers on an individual basis to check on them.”
Inspector Wightwick said Sergeant Ellott is a ‘meticulous and thorough investigator’.
He said this has ‘not only been obtained through years of experience’, but is also a ‘reflection of the consummate professional that she is’.
She expects the ‘highest standards of herself’ – the ‘bar that she sets is something that we should all aspire to’.
Inspector Wightwick added: “She is, to many of her team and other teams, that professional ‘sounding board’ that we look to, and a figure of reassurance and support when this is needed.
“Asides from her day-to-day business of managing her team, she has adopted the role of Road Policing’s ‘Family Liaison Co-ordinator’ (FLC).
“Her passion in this area is frankly unsurpassed and the time she that invests in the team of family liaison advisors and family liaison officers to check on their welfare and help manage their workloads to ensure that bereaved families receive the best support often extends into her own time.
“Whilst I know that is a ‘sense of duty’ for Stacey, it goes beyond that. It goes beyond just ‘doing the right thing’. For Stacey, this is because she has the very real consciousness that there is no greater responsibility than to be involved in these investigations to deliver the best service possible. She sees this as a privilege.
“It would be easy, perhaps, for an officer with the same level of experience as Stacey to become complacent or fatigued but she remains resolute, passionate and embodies the qualities of what every RPU officer should strive for.
“I can think of no other officer for whom this award would be more thoroughly deserved in recognition to her professionalism and service to roads policing and road safety.”