University of Worcester student Cassie Johns received a special award for her research work on the force driving special police constables.
Cassie, from Exeter, was given the first ever Shared Police and Higher Education Research and Enterprise (SPHERE) undergraduate prize, including a cheque for £300, for her dissertation on why people volunteer to be special constables.
The presentation took place at the re-launch of SPHERE - a partnership between West Mercia Police and the University of Worcester which aims to help both organisations become more effective by sharing information and expertise.
SPHERE was originally set up eight years ago and has been relaunched to mark University College Worcester gaining full university status.
Since 1997, there have been 40 projects, ranging from an evaluation of a beat manager to instruction techniques for firearms officers.
Psychology student Cassie said: "I found that some people became special constables as a step on the ladder to getting into the force and others did it for the community.
"I then helped with the publicity and marketing because they are interested in people who want to donate their time for the community."
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