Chief constable who led operation to save town in dam drama honoured by the Queen
DERBYSHIRE’S to police officer Rachel Swann has been awarded the Queen’s Police Medal.
The medal is awarded to officers of any rank for acts of courage and conspicuous devotion to duty.
Mrs Swann began her policing career with Leicestershire Police in 1994. Rising through the ranks, she took a key command role for the Team GB Olympic training camp at Loughborough University and the Queen’s Jubilee visit to Leicester.
In 2015 CC Swann joined Northamptonshire Police as Assistant Chief Constable before being promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in 2017.
She joined Derbyshire Constabulary as Deputy Chief Constable in February 2019 – taking command of the operation to save the town of Whaley Bridge after the partial collapse of a dam – before becoming Chief Constable in August 2020.
It was announced on Friday that she will receive the medal as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
Mrs Swann said: “I am immensely privileged to have been awarded a Queen’s Police Medal and feel incredibly lucky to be recognised alongside such dedicated and hardworking colleagues from across the country.
“During my time in Derbyshire, latterly as Chief Constable, a position that I feel so incredibly proud to hold, we have seen the Whaley Bridge emergency, extreme flooding and, of course, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“Throughout all of these incidents I have been supported by the officers and staff within the force, our partners across the county and the fantastic communities the length and breadth of Derbyshire.”
Peter Goodman, former Chief Constable of Derbyshire, has been made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for services to policing and prevention of crime.