Police making a difference

Here are three stories which were told at the ceremony at the Tower of London.

The sensitive side of the force

Three children crying for their mother minutes after their father is suspected of killing her was the scene that confronted police.

The officers received a commendation at the Tower of London last week for the way they dealt with the case.

It was on a Sunday evening in July last year when police were called to the tower blocks of Midship Point following a call that a woman had fallen from a flat.

Insp Gary Anderson said: "It was three in the morning and when I arrived I recorded what lights were on in the tower block nearby where the lady fell and officers went from the top to the bottom calling on those homes.

"When we found the right home. There were three children all under five in the flat who had lost their mother.

"My officers must be commended for the way they dealt with these children."

The father was arrested and officers, including PC Joy Darling who was to carry out a 25-hour shift that day, took care of the children.

PC Darling said: "The first child, a toddler, was terrified and calling for his mummy. I had to get him dressed and tried to reassure him.

"There was also a baby and a five-year-old and they were upset and in the middle of a crime scene. While the evidence was important the key priority was always the children."

Saving youth from prostitution

After hearing a 14-year-old girl was being blackmailed into prostitution officers had to act fast.

DS Melanie Fenn, pictured, said: "We didn't know the victim at all - it was from an anonymous call to the NSPCC.

"This guy had groomed her over an 18-month period. He had raped her and was blackmailing her into prostitution. We couldn't allow further offences to take place."

The home in question was on Burdett Road, E14 and belonged to Steven Clark, a dangerous career criminal.

"When we found the house, it was protected because of the nature of the business and what was happening there," said DS Fenn.

"But when the young girl entered she didn't lock the security gate."

Officers forced their way into the home, surprising Clark who was with the young girl and a woman who was working as a prostitute.

The next task for police was getting the woman to give evidence.

DS Fenn said: "She was an adult doing what she wanted for a living. She could consider what she was doing was in a safe environment and we were shutting it down.
"In the end we managed to persuade her to help us as it would help the young girl."

Her evidence meant Clark was sent to prison and the young girl was safe from harm.

Bringing down car crime

After a dramatic increase in theft from cars on the Isle of Dogs last year three police officers were assigned with the task catching the culprits.

The suspects were a group from E14 and the officers identified Kalum Lamptey as a suspect.

PC Chris Baldwin, pictured, said: "We recognised him as a prolific offender. We saw him on bikes with a lot of others.

"As we spoke to him he tried to make off. We searched him and found a Sat Nav on him.

"Using the Sat Nav we found the car nearby and we traced the owner who reported it stolen."

Although nothing was found in a search of Lamptey's house police had enough evidence to charge him and bring him to court.

PC Baldwin, who was one of three police officers who received a commendation for the case, said: "He admitted the crime and before court he asked for 13 other thefts to be taken into consideration. He was given about a year in prison.

"The casework was not the hardest part. It was getting hold of him first of all."