New Year's Honours 2020: Kevin set to receive MBE for search and rescue work

A ‘DEDICATED’ volunteer who has devoted thousands of hours to search and rescue in Hampshire has been named in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours.
Kevin Saunders and his rescue dog Zak. Picture: Hampshire ConstabularyKevin Saunders and his rescue dog Zak. Picture: Hampshire Constabulary
Kevin Saunders and his rescue dog Zak. Picture: Hampshire Constabulary

Special Constable Kevin Saunders is set to receive an MBE for his policing services in the rural communities of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The 37-year-old helped set up Britain’s first collaborative Special Constable search and rescue team, which provides an immediate response capability, including specially trained dogs, to assist in the search for vulnerable missing people.

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It is a system that is now being replicated in forces across the country.

Kevin said: ‘I am absolutely honoured. It’s not something you expect to receive. It’s recognition for me doing something that I am massively passionate about.

‘I am so proud of the work the Special Constable search and rescue team has done.’

Kevin has volunteered in search and rescue for seven years, combining it with his day job as an alarm engineer.

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He also leads training to his team of Special Constable volunteers, coordinating 24 hour a day, seven days a week availability – and to date has carried out more than 250 personal deployments.

‘My real passion is search and rescue and I want to push the boundaries of what the Special Constabulary do and how they assist,’ he said.

‘For me, there is a real feeling of pride when we are able to get someone’s loved one home. We are just a small part in a larger team effort to save lives.’

Congratulating Kevin on his honour, Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney said: ‘Kevin’s dedication and unstinting efforts have seen him involved in many deployments and working extended hours, sometimes in extreme weather conditions and often after a full day’s work.

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‘His award reflects so highly on all of our Special Constabulary and the important role they play.’

Kevin, who lives in North Baddesley in Southampton, currently has two border collie working dogs, who assist him in the search for missing persons – 11-year-old Zak and three-year-old Rusty.

He received a Dog’s Trust award nomination in 2012 for saving a man’s life with the help of Zak.

He said: ‘One search Zak and I assisted with that sticks in my mind is when we helped locate a vulnerable male who had dementia.

‘He was caught on some barbed wire and Zak was able sniff him out and locate him.’

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