Two senior Greater Manchester Police officers have received long service awards from the Deputy Chief Constable, and have the Force to thank for bringing them together.
Chief Inspector James Troisi and wife Detective Sergeant Alison Troisi joined GMP in 1996 and to say it was love at first sight might not be an exaggeration. They met during their uniform fitting and were engaged six months later, as soon as they had completed their police training.
They were both presented with their long service awards by Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling at a ceremony held at the Hough End Centre on Wednesday 28 September.
When CI Troisi joined GMP, he was new to the area and didn’t know anyone when he moved to Manchester from Cardiff. Twenty years later, he has shown commitment and determination to the Force having received recognition for different aspects of his work – as Duty Inspector during the explosion at Shaw and also for his involvement with an operation that focused on the sale of specialised martial arts weapons in the Northern Quarter.
DS Troisi has spent twenty dedicated years working for GMP, starting at the Oldham Division as a response officer until 2000, being promoted to the Child Abuse Investigations Team in 2007 and last year joining the Serious Case Review team at Nexus House. Her colleagues nominated her for a Divisional Commanders Award for her outstanding leadership and her long service award will stand alongside her Chief Constable Excellence Award for Partnership Working.
James said: “When I first met Alison it was love at first sight, but I assumed she was out of my league. I wasn’t very domesticated when I first joined the police, so when she offered to help me with my washing and ironing, I took that as she fancied me!
“Receiving our long service award means a lot, professionally and personally. We have achieved a lot in our careers and we are proud of that. We have loved bringing up our three children together, Elle Betty and James and they, as well as our careers, have kept us extremely busy.”
James has recently been promoted and will be moving to West Yorkshire Police to work on a change programme.
Alison said: “To get this far in our career and to be awarded together is very special. Starting a career in the police was very daunting but having my best friend with me throughout has made it easy.I was instantly attracted to James when we first met; he was so handsome and full of fun. He is still my best friend, my shoulder to cry on and my coach. Without his constant support and motivation I would not be a sergeant now.”
Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling said: “This is a lovely story, not only did James and Alison start their careers together at GMP but the police brought them together in the first place, without being part of GMP, they may never have even met.
“I would like to thank them both for their commitment and hard work. I hope we have the pleasure of benefitting for many more years of police work from Alison and I would like to wish James all the best with the next stage of his career.”
