20 February 2026

Dedicated officer named Colleague of the Year at Dorset Police Federation Recognition Awards.

A dedicated and hard-working officer who does everything he can to take the administrative burden off officers in his team has been named Colleague
of the Year at the 2026 Dorset Police Federation Recognition Awards.

PC John Barron, a patrol officer at Bournemouth South, has been on restricted duties for the past year as he has been suffering from back
problems.

Despite this, he has never missed a beat and has stepped up to support his frontline colleagues with case file work and CCTV reviews.

He has recently taken his sergeant’s exam and now steps into the Acting Sergeant role when needed. A colleague said: “The support that John offers
to everyone on the squad is unparalleled.”

PC Barron said: “I've been on restricted duties for quite a while now, so I've been doing a lot of case files. Officer numbers are obviously low at the
moment, and they’re so busy and out and about all the time. So I'm just trying to make it more manageable for them and take some of the burden
off them if I can.”

PC Barron also played a key role in the Op Lion investigation into the fatal stabbing of Amie Gray and the attempted murder of Leanne Miles on
Bournemouth beach in May 2024. He trawled through hours of CCTV that helped lead to the identification of the suspect.

He recalled: “We were actually on duty when that happened, so I went straight up to the CCTV room to try and capture what we could. I was able to
capture the offence and the movements of the suspect prior to it happening and afterwards.“

That information got to the crime scene investigators who were at the scene, so they could track the man’s footprints in the sand from where we

knew his movements had been. So it was good that it was so quick, otherwise we could have potentially lost that evidence.”

A colleague said: “John has worked with a number of departments on different projects, so his support is not just limited to our squad. I cannot
think of anyone who has offered more support to colleagues across the force than John in the past 12 months, despite his medical issues preventing
him from being in his favoured frontline role.”

PC Barron was also praised for having a great investigative mindset and a track record of getting convictions on cases others may have given up on, as
well as striving for the best possible outcome for victims.

When he heard he had won a Federation award, PC Barron said: “It made me feel really appreciated in the team, which is especially nice when I’m on
restricted duties and having that annoyance of not being able to rush out and help them at jobs. I was really chuffed, it was nice to hear.”

Dorset Police Federation Chair Chris Wood said: “John is the pillar of his team and takes a huge burden off his colleagues. Also his vital contribution
to Op Lion demonstrates his quick thinking and dedication to his job – he is a worthy winner of this award.”

PC Barron will attend the 2026 Dorset Police Federation Recognition Awards on 26 February.

Dorset Police Federation Recognition Awards are in association with Bluline Health.

Also sponsoring the awards are Accord, Axon, Niche, Uniform Mortgages, Police Mortgages, Warren & Co, Police Friendly, Serve and Protect Credit
Union, Philip Williams and No1 Copperpot Credit Union