A Suffolk police officer has won a national award for her work in tackling prostitution and trafficking.

PC Janet Humphrey won the ‘Excellence in Performance’ at the ceremony held by the British Association for Women in Policing (BAWP) in Leicester on Monday.

On discovering that she had won the award PC Humphrey said: “I am shocked and amazed, overwhelmed and delighted. It is an honour to be recognised for just doing your job.”

PC Humphrey, a mother-of-two, joined Suffolk Constabulary in October 1985 as a Police Constable aged just 21.

She has spent all her service in Ipswich and has been a Community Police Officer for Nacton, a local intelligence officer, a control room operator and was a Community Police Officer in the town centre before working as part of a team to reduce street prostitution.

Detective Superintendent Alan Caton of the Public Protection Department submitted a five-page nomination for PC Humphrey.

It paid credit to her success as an officer, her ability to interact with people and her commitment and devotion to her work.

Det Sup Alan Caton said: “I have known Janet nearly all her service and it was clear from her time as a Community Police Officer that the caring and pastoral side of her character would be best served in dealing with a specialist area of policing involving problem solving.

“Her skills are many but the main one is that she can empathise with the sex workers and they trust her.”