Kings Police Medal and MBE for Thames Valley Police colleagues

In the King’s New Year Honours list, one of our staff, former officers, and a former Senior Detective have been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to policing and the community.

Jennifer Lamboll, Contact Management Police Staff Supervisor, has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to policing and the community.

Jennifer has served over 34 years for Thames Valley Police, she juggled being a special constable alongside working shifts opposite her detective husband whilst raising their two young children. Her current role is helping to achieve call handling consistency through quality and data audit work in Contact Management.

Jennifer has also played a pivotal role in recruitment for Contact Management, dedicating her time to host awareness sessions for prospective call handlers and conducting room visits for provisional offer holders – her work resulted in more applications for the force – work that goes above and beyond her responsibilities.

She demonstrates unwavering dedication to fairness, equality, and diversity and was instrumental in establishing the TVP Black Police Association in 1999.

Her dedication is further demonstrated in her contributions to the Support Association for Minority Ethnic Staff (SAME).

Notably, Jennifer was a committed Special Constable for over 22 years, where she frequently visited schools, supported night-time economy operations, and participated in proactive efforts to reduce vehicle-crime, tackling thefts from and of vehicles.

For ten years, Jennifer was a vital part of the police cadet program, organising and leading activities and offering guidance and support to young teenagers who aspire to join the police. Community work also involved over four years as a Leading Observer in the Royal Observer Corps, a civil defence organisation.

She has also enjoyed charity fundraising and has abseiled off the John Radcliffe Women’s Centre, and the Oxford Carfax Tower and has done a parachute jump. Her current volunteering is at the Abingdon Family Contact Centre. Jennifer loves to bake and do random flapjack drop-offs for unsuspecting friends in her spare time.

Jennifer said:

“Receiving the British Empire Medal has been an incredible shock, and it’s taken some time to truly process it all. I have read my letter from the Cabinet Office over 30 times, I feel deeply honoured and humbled by this recognition, which I never expected. I went to St. James’ Palace when I achieved my Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, so now I’m very much looking forward to going to Buckingham Palace – I just like helping people.”

Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, Jason Hogg, said:

“I am proud that Jennifer has been recognised with this honour, acknowledging her 34 years of dedicated service to Thames Valley Police. Throughout her career, she has shown extraordinary commitment to supporting the force and its communities. I want to thank her for her dedication and hard work. Jennifer is a true inspiration to us all and thoroughly deserves this recognition.”

Former Head of Force Intelligence and Specialist Operations, Detective Chief Superintendent James (Jim) Weems, has been awarded the prestigious King’s Police Medal for his distinguished service.

Jim was the Police Silver Commander for the funerals of Her Majesty the Queen in 2022, His Royal Highness Prince Philip in 2021, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding in 2018, and President Donald Trump’s visit to the UK in 2018.

He designed plans around the Royal Wedding to support the royal couple’s desired feel of the day, whilst allowing the scope for plans to be scaled up or down depending on the threat level.

He dealt with the magnitude of this operation with professionalism and remained calm throughout the planning and delivery.

During Donald Trump’s State visit, Jim managed a significant number of staff and took personal responsibility to ensure they were all fully briefed. Over this two-day period, he visited all the relevant venues that TVP hosted to engage with the police officers on the ground and the other agencies.

He provided leadership as Police Silver Commander during some incredibly traumatic events for the force, including the tragic deaths of two serving TVP officers.

In advance of the funeral of His Royal Highness Prince Phillip and, later, Her Majesty the Queen, Jim was appointed as the Police Silver Commander for Operation Bridge.

He worked with all the key partners across The Royal Household, Government, the Military, and local agencies. Due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, the funeral of His Royal Highness required considerable readjustment. Despite these challenges, Jim delivered an excellent security operation, in keeping with the tone required.

Following the passing of Her Majesty and a subsequent eleven-day Thames Valley Police operation, Jim was elevated to Deputy Gold as thousands of people traveled to Windsor to pay their respects. On the day of the funeral, more than 120,000 members of the public joined the Royal Family to pay their tributes. Continuing in the role of deputy Gold Commander, Jim also managed the force’s operation for the Coronation of King Charles.

In 2022, Jim led the creation of a Drug Task Force (DTF), made up of 19 police staff and officers. The DTF identified 31 county drug lines, closed 14 drug lines, and disrupted 26. It has made 48 arrests, of which 32 have resulted in charges and 14 successful convictions. Further, 43 individuals have been safeguarded, including 16 children. The DTF seized £17,895 and £600,000 worth of drugs and seized 21 weapons.

Upon hearing about his recognition, Jim said:

“It is overwhelming. I was very surprised when I got the call but I was delighted.

“I feel very fortunate that I have had an incredible 31 years in policing. Thames Valley Police is the best organisation to work for.

“I have been very fortunate to work with great commanders, leaders, officers and staff across the force and to have been a part of events both nationally and internationally including Donald Trump’s state visit, the funerals of both Her Majesty and Prince Philip and the Royal Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. I have been blessed with luck.”

The force is excited to announce that Jim’s dedication to TVP will not end here. After retiring as a police officer, he will begin a new staff role with us as curator at the Thames Valley Police Museum in Sulhamstead, West Berkshire.

Jim added:

“When you leave Thames Valley Police, no matter what role you do, you leave the policing family and it leaves a hole. When the Curator role came up, I was excited to come back and talk about how great policing is with members of the public, students and visitors. I am very excited to start.”

Chief Constable Jason Hogg said:

“Jim is an exceptional leader and I am delighted that his hard work, dedication and conscientiousness has been recognised. His success in countless high-profile operations is testament to his devotion and commitment to his role and his pride for policing as a whole.

He provided a calm and reassuring leadership voice that enables us to come together as a force and address the challenges being faced. Jim has had a career to be proud of and I wish him the very best of luck with his new role as museum curator.”

Ian Hunter, former Head of Crime at Thames Valley Police, has been honoured with the King’s Police Medal following his 26-year career, during which he served as a Detective at every rank and contributed significantly to departments such as Major Crime, Professional Standards, and Counter-Terrorism.

Through his skill, leadership, and dedication to investigative policing, he has built a lasting legacy reflected in the quality of serious crime investigations within Thames Valley Police and the capability of its detectives.

His impressive and extensive career saw him lead many high-profile murder investigations as well as many investigations involving international authorities, bringing offenders to justice no matter where they hid.

He also led the multi-agency response following a tragic incident of arson in 2021 that led to the death of two people at a block of flats in Reading and numerous residents losing their homes and possessions. Colleagues and partners noted his professionalism and competence throughout what was an emotive and complex investigation and response, but his leadership ensured it was considered and dignified and led to the conviction and whole life sentence of a 32-year-old man.

He has always had a passion for training and sharing knowledge, which saw him lead a recruitment programme for new detectives. This initiative successfully reduced the force’s vacancy rate from a significant number to virtually zero. He has also trained multiple senior detectives nationally and advised many around the country on international and complex investigations.

He graduated from the FBI National Academy as the UK representative and has built connections with the FBI to champion UK policing and to bring international learning back to the UK.

Bringing his learning and experience to his role as Head of Crime, he initiated a five-year investment and transformation of Forensic Services, which will complete in 2027 and revolutionise the workforce and services we offer.

He designed and implemented a new structure for crime investigations, putting victims at the heart of the investigation, which led to dramatic improvements in investigative capability and interoperability across the force and is now recognised nationally as an innovative, positive practice.

Changes he implemented to ensure dedicated leadership for investigations into offences involving violence against women and girls led to significant increases in charges for stalking, harassment, and sexual offences and an increase in formal action taken against domestic abuse offenders.

On his award, former Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter said:

“I am truly humbled to receive the King’s Police Medal, it is such a great honour. I thoroughly enjoyed my policing career and I have worked with so many wonderful colleagues who make such a difference to our safety and security on a daily basis.”

Chief Constable for Thames Valley Police Jason Hogg, said:

“I had the privilege of working with Ian for a number of years and saw first-hand his dedication and love for policing as well as his conscientious and professional approach to his work, the investigations he led and the families he worked with.

“This honour highlights former Detective Chief Superintendent Hunter’s exceptional achievements and lasting impact on the community. I am pleased to see him recognised.”

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Thames Valley Police (TVP) is actively looking for people to be the difference they want to see in their communities.

To find out more about a policing career with TVP, and the opportunities available now within our force, please visit our Roles page.