THE Wellington Neighbourhood Policing Team’s longest serving officer has ’hung up her boots’.

PC 2378 Joanne Jeffery retired from policing after 31 years of continued service when she worked her last shift as a serving police officer with Avon and Somerset Police.

Jo’s policing career started on January 6, 1991, when she joined the Metropolitan Police Cadets after moving to London from Northern Ireland. After completing her initial training at Hendon, Jo was posted to Charing Cross Police station where she spent the first seven years of her career policing in the West End.

Jo went on to serve in the Territorial Support Group in North West London, often finding herself involved in football disorder and policing events such as the Notting Hill Carnival.

Jo transferred to Avon and Somerset Police in 2000 working as a response officer on a patrol team in Weston-super-Mare before moving to the Somerset West policing area in 2002, which is when she joined the Wellington Neighbourhood Policing Team. In the 20 years that have passed since then, Jo has spent her working days policing local communities by working closely with partners, identifying and supporting those must vulnerable and preventing and detecting crime in and around the Wellington area.

Jo has always been a professional, highly diligent and effective police officer, and proud to be a part of the policing family. She has continuously strived to meet and exceed the standards expected by Avon and Somerset Police, evidenced when she won the Avon and Somerset Police’s Neighbourhood Beat Manager of the Year award.