Teams of Durham Constabulary officers are now back on home turf after providing mutual aid to the national policing operation for the London 2012 Olympics.
Around 130 officers from Durham contributed to keeping the Games safe and secure. Beat officers, and those with specialist skills, including public order officers, search teams, dog handlers, authorised firearms officers and police motorcyclists have now returned.
Measures were put in place to ensure policing across County Durham and Darlington remained unaffected during the mutual aid deployment. Annual leave was restricted, non-essential training postponed and working arrangements reviewed to ensure any potential gaps in staffing were backfilled.
Assistant Chief Constable Michael Banks said today: “We were proud to be able to support the national policing operation for London 2012, while maintaining an effective policing service at home.
“The officers who went volunteered to go and I was delighted to be able to welcome many of them back today.
“Their tours of duty have meant long days away from home but they all report that they’ve had a fantastic experience, showing great pride in being part of this once in a lifetime experience.
“I’ve also had personal contact with one of the Metropolitan Police Service’s senior leaders, complimenting the professionalism of our officers.”
Around 60 officers have now returned. They had been supporting the operation for between one week and 26 days, the latter being the largest single deployment of any force in England. A small number of officers continue to support policing for London 2012.