Surrey Police Federation announce 2025 Operational and Specialist Command Award
2 December 2025
A custody sergeant who is always on hand to share knowledge and mentor less experienced colleagues has won the Operational and Specialist Command Award at the Surrey Police Federation Recognition Awards 2025.
Sgt Diane Houldsworth is a highly experienced custody sergeant at Staines Police Station, where she prides herself on helping young-in-service officers navigate the complex and challenging policing environment.
She is robust in her decision-making on whether it is necessary to detain suspects, and is always open with fellow officers, guiding them on the information she needs to make the best decisions and giving feedback to help them with future arrests.
She has also mentored many new custody sergeants, sharing her knowledge and experience
Di said: “If you're a sergeant in the police, I think you should naturally try to nurture those less experienced or less knowledgeable than you.
“It’s rewarding to help new custody sergeants through their first few weeks and sit shoulder to shoulder with them when they book in their first detainee and bail someone for the first time. You show them what to do, and bit by bit the queries become less frequent as they become more confident.”
One of Di’s key attributes is her attention to detail, especially when it comes to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) and the 24-hour time limit for detaining a suspect without charge. She always ensures that a detained person is being looked after appropriately and dealt with lawfully and expeditiously.
She said: “I enjoy the responsibilities of the role, and it’s nice when people come to me for advice. I don't know all the answers, but I like the challenge to apply my knowledge and my thinking. In a spare moment I'll go into the law books and try to puzzle it out.”
Di faces many challenges in her role, from dealing with medical emergencies, including a detained person who needed CPR, to violent and abusive detainees, and vulnerable detainees in need of additional support.
She said: “I get on well with the detainees, on the whole. A lot of them know me because I've been booking the same ones in so often. That means they’re less likely to assault me or my staff. Generally speaking, because we treat people with respect, they treat us the same way.
“Our job is to de-escalate the situation, follow the law, and get people processed through custody, with the minimum of stress and no one getting hurt.”
Di added: “I'm not a soft touch, but nine times out of 10 I can talk people down.”
She sometimes talks to detainees about which football team they support, to help defuse the situation.
She continued: “There's negative bits as well; it can be absolutely exhausting. And obviously night shifts can be discombobulating. There are some really tough days and some really difficult people, sometimes it can be quite scary. But we're a bit of a band of brothers and sisters in custody and there’s a good spirit of sticking together.”
Surrey Police Federation Chair Darren Pemble said: “Custody policing is a challenging environment, Di has a massive impact on the smooth running of our force, and her advice and guidance often supports investigations, improving the chances of a positive outcome, and in turn supporting victims of crime.
“We are so grateful for her experience and knowledge and her mentorship of new custody sergeants. Well done Di. A well deserving winner of this Award.”
As the winner of a Surrey Police Federation Recognition Award, Sgt Houldsworth will attend a prestigious Awards Ceremony on 4 December.
The lead sponsor for the Awards is Axon.
Also sponsoring are JMW Solicitors, Uniform Mortgages, Serve & Protect Credit Union, Police Mortgages, No1 Copperpot Credit Union, No5 Chambers, Accord, National Police Healthcare Scheme, The Surrey PCC, Police Friendly, Denis Mulholland Financial Solutions, Phillip Williams, Temple Legal, Slater & Gordon and Irwin Mitchell.
