An analyst who helped put a man behind bars for the bashing murder of a toddler and a pair of officers who tracked down a couple who became stranded in hard-to-reach terrain at Redhead were among the 22 people recognised for their service at the Lake Macquarie Police District awards on Tuesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A range of medals and awards were handed out - from National Police Service Medals to Certificates of Merit - as long-service and exceptional dedication to duty were honoured.
"When I talk to the officers they say: 'I don't want to be acknowledged for turning up and doing my job'," Lake Macquarie police commander Superintendent Danny Sullivan said.
"But that turning up, it really involves great courage - to see the worst that society has to offer, go through and do a job professionally and capably, and come back again tomorrow."
When Coffs Harbour police were called to investigate the violent death of a toddler in 2014, Cassandra Baldwin was the senior intelligence analyst who worked the case.
Her work, in what police described as "an extremely confronting and complex investigation", was instrumental in Thomas Lock being sentenced in 2017 to a maximum of 36 years in jail for the two-year-old's murder.
Ms Baldwin - now part of the Lake Macquarie command - analysed phone records, created a timeline of events and brought together all of the information and evidence investigators collected in the field to make a "seamless type of product" that could be effectively used in court.
"I think there should be more results like this, in terms of how long he was locked up for," she said on Tuesday.
Among several others singled out for exceptional work, Senior Constables Mark Seaman and David Austin were recognised for their skills in finding a couple who became trapped in rocky terrain around the cliffs near Redhead Beach last December.
Their ability to track down the pair meant a potentially long and labour-intensive ground search was avoided and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter could retrieve them when they had suffered only mild dehydration.
Full list of Lake Macquarie Police District Award winners
National Police Service Medal
- Detective Sergeant Jeremiah Bowden
- Sergeant Kathryn Betts
- Detective Senior Constable Amanda Phillpott
- Detective Senior Constable Melissa Brooks
- Leading Senior Constable Jason Baker
- Senior Constable Alexandra Cant
National Medal
- Sergeant Kathryn Betts
- Detective Senior Constable Amanda Phillpott
- Detective Senior Constable Melissa Brooks
- Leading Senior Constable Jason Baker
- Senior Constable David Stephenson
- Senior Constable Alexandra Cant
National Medal Clasp Set
- Chief Inspector Darryn Cox - Second clasp
- Sergeant Michael McDonnell - First clasp
- Detective Senior Constable Scott Selkirk - First clasp
NSW Police Service Clasp Set
- Chief Inspector Darryn Cox - Fifth clasp
- Sergeant Michael McDonnell - Third clasp
- Chief Inspector Peter Vromans - Second clasp
- Detective Sergeant Jeremiah Bowden - Second clasp
- Leading Senior Constable Jason Baker - Second clasp
- Senior Constable Debbie Birmingham - Second clasp
NSW Police Medallion
- Lynette Ridgeway - 35 years
- Su-ellen Heaton - 30 years
- Margaret Vandyke - 20 years
NSW Police Force Certificate of Service
- Ramona Casey
Commander's Commendation
- Leading Senior Constable Jaye Chapman
- Senior Constable Mark Seaman
- Senior Constable Jessie Wilkinson
- Senior Constable Whitney Zakrzewski
Commander's Unit Citation
- Senior Constable Scott Wardman
- Senior Constable Mark Seaman
- Senior Constable David Austin
Commander's Certificate of Merit
- Senior Constable Kyal Doherty
- Senior Constable Rosanne Holmes
Certificate of Merit
- Cassandra Baldwin
