START off the New Year with a gesture of good will by rewarding a neighbourhood police officer who you know goes the extra mile for the community in which he or she works.

We have joined forces with Gwent Police to create an award to be part of the annual Gwent Police awards scheme so readers can suggest someone they think is deserving.

Every year Gwent Police hosts its own awards scheme where it highlights and rewards police officers and other force staff and volunteers in 13 categories.

This year we are adding a 14th award to allow you the public to nominate someone for the work.

The South Wales Argus Community Officer of the Year Award is open for nominations of an officer who you think deserves special recognition for going above and beyond to help their local community, having made a positive difference in taking ownership of a community-based problem and resolving it successful.

The award is open to both community safety officers and police constables.

Argus editor Nicole Garnon said: "We were invited to get involved with Gwent Police's awards scheme and were delighted to be able to offer an award which will reward an officer who has close links with their community."

chief Constable Julian Williams added: “We are delighted that the South Wales Argus are able to support our awards evening where we will be celebrating all of the outstanding work carried out by our officers and staff.

“Gwent Police continues to shine in the face of our many challenges, such as the changing nature of crime, in particular Child Sexual Exploitation, Modern Day Slavery and the complex nature of cyber related crime. We are working smarter, developing and delivering new methods to combat these challenges and working collaboratively with other services which will continue to improve the effectiveness of our service

“We can, however, only deliver a quality of service with the support of the public and the Force Awards aims to recognise this, which is why we are so pleased that the South Wales Argus is supporting our Community Officer of the Year Award, as nominated by you, the people that make up Gwent”

To nominate all you have to do is e mail newsdesk@southwalesargus.co.uk or write to us at Newsdesk South Wales Argus, Cardiff Road, Maesglas, Newport NP20 3QN or alternatively submit your nomination on line.

Let us know the name of the officer you are nominating, the area in which they work and why you think they are deserving of our award.

We will also need your contact details.

The award finalists will be selected by a panel including the Deputy Chief Constable, the Police Federation and others.

The winner will be decided by Chief Constable Williams and the Police and Crime Commissioner Jeff Cuthbert.

And the finalists will be announced at a special awards ceremony on Wednesday March 20 at Bryn Meadows Golf and Country Club.