Plymouth Herald deputy news editor Jayne Freer has won a Commander’s Commendation from the police.

The award marks her contribution as crime reporter at the paper between 1997 and 2006 and was given by Chief Superintendent Jim Webster.

Jayne consistently produced exclusives and covered countless murder and serious crime inquiries.

She broke news of the investigation into William Goad, who was dubbed “Britain’s most prolific paedophile”, and did a massive expose on heroin in the city, following 40 defendants from arrest to sentence.

Her citation read: “She reported on many extended major enquiries, seeing them through from initial report to trial, as well as reporting on the lower level incidents that impacted on the community.

“She created a weekly ‘Crime File’ page using still photographs from early CCTV footage. This drew significant responses from the public and remains a regular feature within the newspaper.

“Her reporting inspired the confidence of staff at all levels across the Basic Command Unit to take advantage of the opportunities provided by The Herald to keep the public informed and appeal for their assistance.”

Jayne with Plymouth BCU Chief
Superintendent Jim Webster

Jayne, (36), started her career on the Leicester Mercury before moving to Plymouth.

She had a fierce reputation, with both the police and her competitors for being “all over crime in the city”.

In 2000, she was highly commended in the Press Gazette Regional Journalism Awards, in the categories Reporter of the Year and Specialist of the Year.

In the 2002 South West BT Media Awards she won Reporter of the Year and in 2003 she was a finalist in the Press Gazette awards again as Specialist Reporter of the Year.

Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Stephen Otter said: “It is important that the press help the public to understand the work of the police and I am therefore delighted that Jayne Freer of the Herald has been commended for her long association with law and order in the city.

“We don’t always get it right and the press has a duty to advise the public where there are concerns over police performance.

“When we do achieve good results or there is genuine heroism such as we have seen here, it is heartening to see that some members of the press are happy to share our successes through their media.”