GSL / APPRO Excellence Awards
Association of Police Public Relations Officers Awards for Excellence
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Since 1999, GSL has been pleased to sponsor awards for excellence aimed at promoting good communications between police and public among members of the Association of Police Public Relations Officers (APPRO). http://www.appro.org.uk/default.asp
The aim of the Awards for Excellence is to give much deserved recognition to the work of the police press and public relations officers.
John Bates, MIPR, Director of corporate communications, GSL comments:
“Clear and concise communications with the diverse communities the police serve is paramount in this age of intense press and media scrutiny. Good communications do much to preserve and protect the unique relationship the British police enjoy with their public.
Police forces or more accurately their communications specialists – press and public relations officers – have by the very nature of the business the police are in to respond efficiently often at a moments notice to dreadful and bewildering events. Equally, the quality and effectiveness of planned communications strategies have to be thorough and targeted to reach a myriad of audiences, locally, nationally and occasionally internationally.
The GSL awards for excellence are intended to give much deserved recognition to some of the people behind the scenes without whom valuable management resources and time would be diverted away from the core tasks the police undertake on behalf of the public.
The function of the press office and the professionalism of the people is an integral part of policing in Britain today and these awards go some way to celebrate the outstanding contributions made.
Reflecting back on last years winners – Cumbria Police for their response to the natural disaster caused by the Carlisle storms and Wiltshire Police for their web wise chat room safety campaign – it is easy to see the important role APPRO members play in the police service.
GSL is proud to sponsor the awards and play our part in highlighting excellence in the specialist area".
Award categories
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There are two award categories:
Category A: for excellence in operational response
For the police press officer or individual judged to have responded most effectively to an operational incident or crisis management challenge. The incident could have been an event lasting over a period of time, or one incident and its aftermath.
Category B: for excellence in planned communication
For the police press and public relations team or an individual who has designed or run an effective public relations initiative or campaign. This campaign could have been conducted internally or externally, for example, an advertising campaign to publicise a particular issue, either run in-house or with outside support, either using editorial copy or paid-for advertising, or both.
The judging panel
The national judging panel will include one representative each from: GSL, the Institute of Public Relations, the Guild of Editors, a representative of regional broadcasters, the Chair of APPRO and the Chair of ACPO's Media Advisory Group.
The same panel judges each set of entries, and seeks further supporting material from short-listed candidates. All entries are judged against criteria agreed with the APPRO national committee.
Andy Hayman, Honorary President APPRO and Assistant Commissioner Specialist Operations, Metropolitan Police Service comments,
“Many thanks to GSL for once again sponsoring the annual APPRO Awards. Last year, we saw a high standard of entries and some extremely deserving winners. Judged on effectiveness and innovation, it makes no difference whether you are a small force with a budget to match or a big force used to designing and implementing large scale campaigns. Put your entries in - everyone has a chance of winning.
The APPRO Awards provide you all with the chance to demonstrate the excellent and hard work being undertaken across the country. The awards also offer us a chance to exchange best practice, to learn from each other's ideas and techniques, and an opportunity for managers to gain recognition for indiviudals and teams working hard to contribute to the overarching force communications to the public.
Winners will be well rewarded. The cash bursary can be used in any number of ways, from contributing it to the prize-winning department as a whole, to assisting with the winner's own professional development".
Prize
The prize for each award is a trophy and a £1,500 bursary provided by GSL. The bursary is to be spent on an original study of an aspect of police media relations, or on some project that materially contributes to the efficiency of the office concerned, or police public relations. The winners make a short presentation to the annual APPRO conference 12 months later.