Wiltshire Police Special Constable Damien Penman has been recognised in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours for services to policing.

Damien Penman was awarded a British Empire Medal for his work within the Digital Investigations and Intelligence Unit (DIIU) creating software using cell site data to help locate missing people. Special Constable Penman created a web-based programme that all officers could use to import cell site data and display it on a virtual map. 

SC Penam, BEM said, "I joined as a Special to help people and save lives, and in my mind this is just an extension of that.

"I’m now a trained Blue Light response driver and a police drone pilot – meaning that I spend a lot of my shifts responding to high-risk missing persons across the county. Combining this with the work that I’m doing with DIIU, we are now looking at more ways that we can combine our radio frequency data knowledge with drones to further enhance our capabilities in searching for missing persons and further innovate in this space."

SC Penman was recognised for his services in January 2024 by the Chief Constable with a local Innovation in Policing Award. He won the Innovation in Policing Award at the South West Regional Volunteer Awards in October 2024 and came 2nd for the Innovation in Policing category at the Home Office Lord Ferrers Awards in London in December 2024.