DC Nick Mills from West Midlands Police was given the Services to Detectives award following a career that has seen him reshape the way training is developed and handled, not only in the West Midlands, but across the country.

He is credited with recreating and revolutionising the way WMP delivers the Initial Crime Investigators’ Development Programme and is recognised for his skills and abilities in investigations and passing that knowledge on to those working on the front line.

His recognition came during a two-day seminar held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on Wednesday 9 October, hosted by the Police Federation National Detectives’ Forum (PFNDF).

DC Mills has more than 27 years’ experience as a detective and is now a leading officer within WMP’s Operational Learning & Development’s investigative training team as well as being WMP’s Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Disclosure. His work in revolutionising the way the West Midlands Police deliver the Initial Crime Investigators’ Development Programme was commended along with his tireless efforts to increase the standards of investigative training for a new generation of detectives.

DCSU Mark Payne, Head of WMP Crime, described DC Mills in his nomination as “instrumental in driving the professional delivery of investigative training to a generation of detectives and his work on disclosure has been exceptional.”

Glyn Pattinson, PFNDF chair, said it was not only frontline officers that were recognised for their outstanding contribution to detective investigations.
“DC Nick Mills has been at the forefront of driving forward the training for new detectives in the West Midlands. His experience and knowledge have resulted in the bar for training being raised and that is to the benefit of every detective.”

The runner-up for this category was DS Susan Howell from Nottinghamshire Police who not only has been credited with being the driving force behind the investigation of numerous serious and complex fraud cases, she is leading efforts to change the way colleagues think about fraud, training and supporting colleagues in the process.

Third place went to DC Tara Owens from the Metropolitan Police who has virtually single-handedly improved the way the international law enforcement agency investigates cyber-crime.