2014 Winners

The 2014 Award winners were announced at a special breakfast event at Crown Perth on 27 November 2014.

The winner of the individual category was Detective Sergeant Craig Martin of the Sex Assault Squad for excellence in investigation of a series of sexual assaults against five disabled female taxi passengers during 2014. The offender was later convicted and jailed for 10 years.

Detective Sergeant Martin led a very strong investigation that began with one initial complaint but led to the uncovering of a number of other victims who, due to varying disabilities, had not come forward to disclose the offences to police or their families/carers. Rapid and effective investigative strategies had eliminated the risk of further offending occurring.

Detective Sergeant Martin’s compassion and understanding towards victims was outstanding, he demonstrates leadership within the Sex Crime Division and is a strong contributor to the area’s successes. This investigation was just one of the most recent of many complex and challenging investigations he has undertaken during a significant career in the WA Police Force.

Finalists in the individual category were:

Constable Daniel Grace – Morley Police Station, West Metropolitan District
Constable Paul Sheridan – Cannington, South East Metro Response – North, South East Metropolitan District

The winner of the team category was Kensington Police Station for its successful adoption of social media within the framework of the WA Police Force’s new metropolitan local policing model. The station’s use of Twitter in particular had led to remarkable further improvements in local police’s engagement with communities in Kensington, Como, Victoria Park and surrounding suburbs.

Kensington Police have been at the vanguard of innovative but strategic use of social media by police, using it to inform the local public about issues, what police are doing about those issues, and also as a two-way mechanism to generate feedback and vital information from residents.

The station had shown leadership at the frontline of policing with its broader community engagement efforts, which other metropolitan stations had since emulated.

Finalists in the team category were: