Ideas about police work in the new Millennium have won Shipley officer Brian Watson a top award and cash prize.

PC Watson took first place in the Queen's Gold Medal Competition with a 4,500-word essay on challenges facing police today, which left him with a special certificate and £500 richer

He said: "I was already part way into doing an MA on Managing Change in Communities when the competition came up. I've got a genuine interest and some very definite views on the nature of policing, so I was keen to get involved."

Entries had to be submitted under a pseudonym so PC Watson sent in his as written by Homer J Simpson!

"The essay nearly didn't get there," he said. "I'd almost decided not to send it when my wife convinced me to give it the final push. In the end I sent it by courier to London on the closing day for entries!"

PC Watson's essay sets out his views on how the new Millennium gives an opportunity to sharpen the role, organisation, and image of policing.

It examines what police do and how well they do it, suggesting the turn of a century as a time to take stock of where policing should be focused in the future.

The essay included an in-depth analysis into the implementation of Problem Orientated Policing and also covered some of the serious issues affecting Bradford, including race.

PC Watson did extensive research for the essay, much of it from a visit to New York City's 10th Precinct.

A former loss adjudicator, PC Watson initially applied to join the police after university but found the force was not recruiting at the time.

"I joined because I believed as a police officer I could make a difference and help people," he said. "I still believe in that, although I am only one person and can only do it at local level.

"Policing is a difficult job. What I was trying to convey in my essay is that, amid all the technology, paperwork, rules and regulations, we shouldn't lose sight of what we are here to do.

"I'm very pleased to have won the competition, but I will be even happier if the essay makes a difference in some way, rather than just sitting on a bookshelf somewhere."