CNC and Joint Response Unit celebrate three year milestone of collaborative working

The Joint Response Unit (JRU) and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) officers have celebrated three years of collaborative success, improving emergency response in Kent communities. 

The first Joint Response Unit was launched in March 2018 and covered the Medway and Swale areas. In August 2019, a second vehicle was introduced in Dartford and Gravesham. This initiative paired a Kent police officer with a paramedic to respond to incidents involving major trauma or life-threatening injuries.

In November 2020, South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) announced their collaboration with the Joint Response Unit. Prior to that, the Joint Response Unit had two emergency vehicles patrolling north Kent, Medway and Swale every evening and at weekends.

“We work closely with Kent Police and the South-East Coast Ambulance Service. This initiative provides outstanding professional development for CNC officers, whilst also supporting the local community.” 

Chief Superintendent Graham Bell, Civil Nuclear Constabulary.

Since March 2018, the JRU team has attended around 4,500 calls. Since April 2020, SECAmb estimates more than 1,000 hours have been saved on the road, which equates to around 30 minutes per incident. Due to the success, the team decided to roll out a third vehicle to the JRU team to cover east Kent.

A collaborative effort

In 2021, the CNC joined the initiative with an officer from Dungeness joining the team to make it a three-person patrol. Since then, officers have completed 100 shifts with the team. The CNC officers and police medics have gained a huge amount of experience through the collaboration work, and now fast forward to 2024, CNC and Joint Response Unit are celebrating their three-year milestone.

“I am immensely proud of the collaboration work and the support that has been shown to our officers. Reaching both milestones is a great achievement and one that everyone involved should be equally proud of, especially given the challenges of COVID that we all faced during the early stages.”

Sergeant Chris Abbott, Operational Support, Civil Nuclear Constabulary.

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