Members of the community paused on Wednesday to honour the brave men and women on the front line.
The New England Local Area Command Awards Ceremony recognises police who are dedicating their lives to serving the community, Armidale police duty officer Inspector Christopher McKinnon said.
“You see some fairly ordinary sights and it takes a fairly resilient person,” Mr McKinnon said.
“Someone who is fairly calm and collected and is able to think quickly on their feet and work out the best possible solution to any given situation we might confront.
“Some things are obviously very traumatic and they can impact on some people far greater than others.
“I think those that stay in the police a little bit longer have possibly worked out ways of dealing with it.
“We appreciate the efforts of our staff and want to make sure they’re acknowledged in a proper manner and that’s why we have these awards ceremonies.”
The awards included the NSW Police Medal which is sworn to members of the force who have completed 10 years of diligent and ethical service.
The NSW Police Medallion and National Medal were also awarded.
“The awards that were presented today included the Commissioner’s Unit Citation and that related to Strike Force Durkin which was the Malcolm Naden matter,” Mr McKinnon said.
“Another officer received a Queensland police G20 Citation after he attended during the G20.
“There was a North West Region commendation.
“All those awards were presented by Assistant Commissioner Geoff McKechnie who is our region commander.”
The New England command encompasses 13 police stations and covers over 30,000 square kilometres from Tenterfield to Uralla and Ebor to Delungra.
Mr McKinnon said being a police officer was more than just a job.
“I think first and foremost it takes someone special to be a police officer because I think a lot of people go into certain jobs for the sake of having a job,” he said.
“You have to appreciate what it’s going to entail and be resilient enough to manage through what it does entail.
“Sometimes you can’t think about things that happen… just every day things sometimes play on your mind.
“Good family and friends assist you in living a fuller life.”
The ceremony also recognised public servants for their work and dedication to the service over 15 and 25 years.
Guests of honour included Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall and Uralla Mayor Michael Pearce.
