City of London Police staff member awarded MBE in Queen’s Birthday Honours 2022

A City of London Police employee has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Melissa Dark was awarded the honour for her services to the community, police and the voluntary sector through her work as the force’s Casualty Bureau Manager and Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) Coordinator.

Melissa said:

“I was really shocked when I found out I was to be awarded an MBE, and receiving it in the year of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee makes it even more special.

“I feel so honoured to receive this award and I want to say thank you to all of the incredible people that I have worked with over the course of my career in policing.”

Melissa joined the City of London Police in 2010 but is now seconded as the National Casualty Bureau Coordinator. She works for the City of London Police one day a week as the DVI and major enquiry system coordinator where she is responsible, amongst other things, for running casualty bureaus in the wake of major incidents.

During the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Melissa drew on her experience as Casualty Bureau Manager to design the operations centre that enabled the various agencies staffing the Pandemic Multi Agency Response Teams (PMART) to deliver a 24-hour response to sudden deaths across London.

She also ensured this could be replicated and worked with other regions in the UK that were experiencing similar volumes of deaths, sharing her strategic and operational knowledge.

Melissa has strengthened the force’s relationship with other agencies, including the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, and has lead on the Survivor Reception Centre element to the largest ever major incident exercise in Europe.

City of London Police Commissioner Angela McLaren said:

“I am struck not only by the level of professionalism and leadership that Melissa exhibits during high-pressure situations, but also how passionate she is about her work and the compassion she has for others in the darkest of times.

“Melissa is an asset to the City of London Police and a shining example of someone who puts victims, and their loved ones, at the heart of everything she does.”

Melissa’s service to victims has also extended beyond the City of London, having set up a CoLP casualty bureau in response to national incidents including the: Westminster Bridge terror attack, Manchester Arena terror attack, London Bridge terror attack; Grenfell Tower fire, Fishmongers Hall attack and death of migrants in a lorry in Essex.