Winner of the Chief Constable Bravery Award 2025, Wigan's Police Sergeant Carl Beck

Police Sergeant Carl Beck has been recognised for his courage at the Chief Constables Awards, winning the award in the ‘Bravery’ category.

PS Beck was described as selfless, fantastic and as having immense bravery by Wigan’s district commander, Chief Superintendent Clare Jenkins, for his service on an independent pursuit in Wigan town centre.

On Thursday 18 July 2024, PS Beck displayed outstanding heroism and professionalism during a violent and chaotic incident on Market Street, Wigan. The offender, armed with a knife, had launched a series of brutal attacks, stabbing a victim multiple times, stealing from him, and returning to stab him again. This incident took place in a very busy area in the middle of the day, the offender made no effort to hide his violent action, and he posed an immediate and severe threat to the safety of people in the area.

Beck was working on the Neighbourhood Tasking Team when he heard the incident over police airwaves. He immediately assessed the urgency and recognised a shortage of taser-trained officers in the area at that particular moment. Decisively, he deployed himself from Wigan Police Station to assist, arriving at the scene within five minutes.

Members of the public directed PS Beck towards the offender’s location. Despite receiving conflicting reports suggesting multiple stabbings, PS Beck did not hesitate and pursued the offender, fully aware of the potential danger to himself.

When he confronted the offender, still armed with a knife, the suspect refused to engage and attempted to take PS Beck’s taser. He remained calm and professional, successfully deploying his taser to neutralise the threat and prevent further harm for the public.

Following the taser-enabled arrest, and despite the offender’s actions, PS Beck provided exemplary aftercare to him and managed the crime scene effectively, securing vital evidence. Body worn footage displays PS Beck communicating clearly to the offender what was going on and proceeded to make sure he was taken to the hospital before being taken to custody.

His actions have also been commended by GMP’s taser experts for his adherence to training and operational standards.

PS Beck’s courage and quick thinking directly contributed to protecting the public and enabled the successful prosecution of the offender for robbery, section 18 wounding, burglary, possession of a bladed article and affray. He was sentenced to six-years imprisonment. The victim also survived the horrendous attack.

The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Sir Stephen Watson, said: ““It is often said that police officers run toward danger when others flee, and PS Carl Beck exemplified this truth.

“In the face of peril, he showed immense courage and unwavering commitment to protecting others.

“His actions did not end when the immediate threat passed, he demonstrated the same dedication in providing aftercare and support to the offender.”

Wigans District Commander, Clare Jenkins, said:  “His level of selflessness to ensure there was no wider risk to the public, disregarding the risk to himself was outstanding.

“His professionalism in aftercare of the suspect demonstrates fantastic QSB.

“His actions were rightly highlighted by Force training, how he dealt with the incident and then suspect, whilst demonstrating immense bravery. Great work!”                   

This incident is an absolute reminder of the dangers our officers face daily. They regularly put themselves in harm’s way to protect the public, often in unpredictable and high-risk situations. It’s important we recognise their actions, even more so on occasions such as this.