Crime Fighter of the Year - Partnered by Bonnier Books
The Crime Fighter of the Year Award is to honour the person(s) or organisation that has made a profound impact on a case or on the criminal justice system as a whole. All six recipients of this award exemplify what a ‘crime fighter’ truly is.
AISOSA HENKOMA Aisosa is an advisor, mentor and trainer,
with lived experience of crime and gang
involvement. He works with projects
aimed at protecting children and young
people from criminal exploitation,
and is also a founder member of the
Human Trafficking Foundation’s Lived
Experience Advisory Panel. Aisosa’s
decision to prevent young people being
caught up in crime places a risk on his
safety, but he’s committed to making a
positive change, as well as creating more
effective approaches to safeguarding. | |
DETECTIVE INSPECTOR HELENE MILLER An expert in countering modern
slavery and human trafficking, Helene
has shone a light on this crime, giving
a voice to the vulnerable and improving
knowledge and understanding on
an international scale. She has also
introduced the Victim Navigator
program into the Metropolitan Police
force, which has seen an increase
in victims of trafficking supporting
police prosecutions, rising from
33 per cent to 83 per cent. | |
THE CYBER HELPLINE A community-driven, victim-first
initiative, The Cyber Helpline works
with thousands of people who have
been victims of online harm, from
cyberstalking to cryptocurrency
scams. Providing a free, confidential
helpline run primarily by volunteers and managed by Charlotte Hooper (pictured),
the Helpline assists victims to feel safe
physically, financially, and emotionally.
It helps people secure their online
safety, recover from the issue and
gather evidence, and also provides
advocacy for those in need. | |
RACHEL WILLIAMS Rachel is the founder of SUTDA (Stand
Up To Domestic Abuse). After 18 years
in an abusive relationship, she was shot
and severely injured by her partner,
who killed himself after the
attack. A short while later, her 16-yearold son Jack died by suicide. Rachel
now trains police and organisations
about domestic abuse, coercive
control, and the impact of traumatic
relationships. She also runs the VOICE
programme, designed for victims and
survivors of intimate partner abuse. | |
CAMERAS IN COURT CAMPAIGN John Battle, a media lawyer at ITN,
spearheaded a 20-year campaign to film
sentencing in the Crown Court, making
legal history in 2022 when the Ministry
of Justice allowed judges’ verdicts
to be televised. John’s mission to bring
greater understanding to the public and
promote press freedom is also seen in
his work to create the Reporters Charter,
supporting the work of crime reporters,
as well as a new Media Protocol, allowing
visual evidence to be shared with media. | |
CRIMINAL EXPLOITATION CAMPAIGN: SAMMY’S LAW
Sammy’s Law is a Bill named after
Rotherham child exploitation survivor
Sammy Woodhouse. The Bill would
pardon child sexual abuse victims for
crimes they were coerced into, and
remove crimes from their records. The
campaign is also asking for amendments
to the Modern Slavery Act to ensure
children are not criminalised while
exploited. The campaign has support
from PCCs, Chief Constables and
charities throughout the UK. |