Officer whose tireless work led to dozens more prosecutions receives the Devon & Cornwall Federation's South Devon Division Award

30 September 2026

An officer whose tireless work and ingenuity has led to dozens more sexual offenders being prosecuted has received the South Devon Division Award at the 2026 Devon and Cornwall Police Federation Recognition Awards.

Det Insp Jeanne Hellyer works for South Devon CID, where she is dedicated to tackling violence against women and girls. She has driven incredible RASSO (rape and serious sexual offences) improvements in South Devon, and has shared this good practice across the rest of the force.

Her new approach has led to an exponential increase in arrest rates and reduced the backlog of RASSO cases from almost 50 to fewer than five.

Det Insp Hellyer – an officer for 19 years - explained: “We want our victims to have trust and confidence in us. We want them to know that we believe them and we're taking their report seriously.

“So I put a plan together with one of the detective sergeants, with the support of the DCI, and we ensured that we cleared the backlog of suspects that were outstanding, but also implemented a protocol that any new investigations were logged on a tracker.

“That way, we could see exactly what offence needs to be arrested, and if there were searches or evidence to be secured. So we went from having quite a large backlog down to single-digit numbers, improving victim service, but also the timeliness to investigations.”

Many of these investigations have gone to court, often resulting in long jail sentences for offences including rape and attempted murder. DI Hellyer said: “We’ve had some really good results but, ultimately, it's all down to the detectives and the hard work that they put in and the long hours they've worked to secure charges.”

DI Hellyer has also created a more open-minded and victim-focused culture, by challenging misconceptions and prejudice not only in relation to RASSO victims but also internally within CID to create a more inclusive and professional environment for staff.

She said: “On a coaching and mentoring level, I really enjoy helping get the best out of people and seeing them achieve. And I want to safeguard the vulnerable, I want to protect those people within our community, and we want to lock bad people up and bring them to justice.”

On how she looks after colleagues, she said: “I like to operate from a position of kindness, certainly not one of intimidation. I would like to think I'm approachable and I always look for opportunities for learning as opposed to blame.

“For me, it's all about getting the best out of people, and recognising that, for the most part, everyone wants to do a good job, and the thing that stops them is ultimately if they are unhappy or they're unhealthy. So if there's anything I can do, then I'll do it.”

Devon and Crnwall Police Federation Chair Katie Clements said: “Jeanne is an exceptional detective inspector who has driven incredible positive change over the past 12 months, improving investigation standards, helping dozens of victims and supporting her fellow officers.”

The Devon & Cornwall Police Federation Recognition Awards are in association with Axon.

Also sponsoring the Awards are Niche, Uniform Mortgages, Gallagher, Serve and Protect Credit Union, Warren & Co, The National Police Healthcare Scheme, THB Legal, Police Mortgages, Bluline Health, Accord and No1 Copperpot Credit Union.