Family and friends cheered on a group of brave officers and members of the public who were recognised at the Borough Commander's commendation ceremony.

The annual ceremony recognises the efforts of officers and members of the public for determination, bravery, perseverance and contribution to keeping the streets of Barnet safe.

To begin proceedings Det Chief Supt Simon Rose named officer "the nightwatch" after the terrible events in Barcelona last week, and made clear that every contribution was equal, despite the variety of commendations to proceed.

He said: "All are exceptional in their own right but they are different and equal. Sometimes less is more."

The first officer to be commended was PC Mike Wallace for holding a charity football match last year, fundraising more than £760 for the Afro-Caribbean Cancer Trust and seeing 86 people sign up to be stem cell donors.

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From there, Chief Insp Mark Williamson, Det Chief Insp Owain Richards, Insp Dave Lobb and the borough commander himself, told story after story of bravery from officers who went above and beyond the call of duty in bringing about justice.

One PC Angela Tisler was awarded a commendation along with three other officers for pursuing an offender for months and months to uncover a criminal network in which he had been operating.

A man who had recently left prison, Mr Ogboye, had moved from Essex to Barnet and sparked suspicion as he was seen driving expensive cars and living in a luxury redevelopment.

After months of investigation it was discovered that he was involved in an organised crime network of more than 14 individuals and, after he made a mistake leaving behind forensic evidence at a burglary, he was arrested and a significant amount of cash, drugs and stolen property were recovered, and several more arrests took place.

Prosecutors described Mr Ogboye as a "professional criminal".

PC Tisler said: "It feels great to be honest.

"We do not get the recognition very much so having this opportunity is really important - I think everyone should get one at some point."

Times Series: Borough Commander Simon Rose with PC Angela TislerBorough Commander Simon Rose with PC Angela Tisler

Another commendation went to PC John McGovern, whose mother Kathleen said it was his fourth commendation in his four years and attended the ceremony with her husband and John's father, Tony.

She said: "We are really proud of him - he has only been in the force four years.

"He has done some amazing things and the community in Barnet have commended him to his bosses - he loves his job."

There were also two awards specific awards given extra to the commendations, Trainee Detective Constable of the Year and Probationer of the Year.

The latter of these is given in honour of Neil Coades, a policeman who died tragically at just 22 years of age in 2004.

Det Chief Supt Simon Rose spoke about Neil before awarding PC Dane Guildea with the award: "There is little doubt in my mind that he [Neil] was a star in the making and would have gone to become and excellent officer.

"His personal ethic of service to others is one we should all aspire to uphold."

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The full list of commended officers and members of the public are as follows:

PC Michael Wallace, commended for dedication to youth engagement after holding a charity football match involving more than 140 young people.

PCs Tom Smith and James Morral, commended for professionalism and diligence in locating and detaining suspects responsible for an ATM burglary.

PC Sam Chegwin, commended for professionalism, tenacity and investigative ability in bringing to justice three prolific motor vehicle crime offenders.

PCs Daniel Watts, John McGovern and Joseph Hodnett, commended for professionalism, compassion and outstanding victim care in attempting to save the life of a male suffering a cardiac arrest while driving.

PC Dale Guildea, commended for problem solving, community and partnership work and tackling serious youth violence in his work as Underhill ward officer. PC Guildea also won Probationer of the Year.

Times Series: Chief Inspector Mark Williamson with a group of officers, two of whom suffered serious injuries in the line of dutyChief Inspector Mark Williamson with a group of officers, two of whom suffered serious injuries in the line of duty

PCs Kirby Beresford, Macdara Conneely, Karen Lee, Ryan Legge and Lynsey McMenemy, commended for outstanding compassion and thoughtfulness when protecting, caring for and reassuring four neglected children.

SPC Rennie Llewellyn, commended for professionalism, dedication to duty and courage in coming to the aid of the public and a colleague dealing with a violent male when off duty.

PC Jack Smith, commended for professionalism and courage to protect the public and detain a violent man in Tesco Express in Barnet, who posed a significant threat to himself and others. This event was the same for SPC Llewellyn's commendation.

PC Amy Gooding, Dr Michael Patterson and Dr Gopalan Radhakrishnan, commended for giving emergency first aid and saving a man’s life during an international football match at Wembley.

PC Tom Bolton, commended for professionalism, problem solving and developing collaborative solutions with the community of the Grahame Park Estate.

PCs Tim Clarke, Alex Edwards, Angela Tisler and PCSO Justin Burda, commended for professionalism, diligence and tenacity in pursuing a serious offender and identifying and arresting his criminal network.

PCs Tracy Grainger, John Durrant, James Lawlor-Perks, Lisa Cafferkey, Nick Lang, Daniel McAlpine and Mark Tankard, commended for detaining a violent male and their colleagues who responded to their urgent assistance at Barnet General Hospital. PC Grainger and PC Durrant were seriously injured in the line of duty, with PC Durrant suffering a head wound that knocked him unconscious and PC Grainger required stitches to her face.

Times Series: Borough Commander Simon Rose presenting Jane Lamptey her awardBorough Commander Simon Rose presenting Jane Lamptey her award

Jane Lamptey, commended for dedication and long, meritorious service to the MPS. Ms Lamptey joined the Barnet Police in 1997 and has seen eight borough commanders come and go in her 35 year career, having joined the Metropolitan Police in 1982.

PC Natalia Kaminska and PC Declan O’Sullivan, commended for professionalism, tenacity and investigative ability in collecting evidence after a drunk male collided into several parked cars and a living room, injuring three generations of the family in residence.

PS Mike Burke, commended for is commended for leadership, tenacity and lateral thinking, in innovatively applying under-used legislation to a recurring problem that has blighted many boroughs for several years.

PS James Halliday, commended for leadership, tenacity and astuteness in securing specialist equipment and appropriate authorities, to lead an effective covert operation, against organised, environmental crime – bringing several perpetrators to justice.

PC Mark Frampton is commended for professionalism, dedication to duty and tenacity in executing an effective, covert operation, against organised, environmental crime – bringing several perpetrators to justice. The case relating to these three commendations was a case of a travelling community taking up illegal residence in Barnet in February 2017 and causing damage to the local area.

PC Eddie Rose, commended for leadership, tenacity, professionalism and detective ability, in locating scores of outstanding suspects, for a range of serious criminal offences and being instrumental in bringing them to justice.

PC Ross Nicholson and PC Darren Pullen, commended for outstanding bravery after having to stop an attempted burglar without available back up from the police.

PC Glynn Chapman and PC Jason Farrell, commended for leadership, professionalism and innovation, in devising, planning and delivering a first class, simulated terrorist attach exercise to adequately prepare the borough’s multi-agency response for such an eventuality.

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SPS Shane Clarke, commended for recognition of outstanding public service and dedication to serving the community of Barnet.

PCs James Lawlor-Perks, Simon Gratton, Richard Saggers and Murat Yildirim, commended for courage, empathy and quick thinking in preventing a suicidal male from taking his life.

PC Lesley Cook, commended for professionalism in transforming a vulnerable woman’s life through early intervention and support, reducing the woman’s re-offending, increasing partnership resources and reducing high demand on the emergency services.

Insp Jaiye Warwick-Saunders and PS Foster Percil. Due to the case being ongoing the full details of this commendation is not able to be reported.

TDC Jordan Nurse was awarded Trainee Detective Constable of the Year.