The NSW Police Officer of the Year awards were announced yesterday with local officer Senior Constable Courtney Pietens from the Richmond Police District being awarded the Irene Juergens (IJ) Fellowship Award Sworn Category.

Irene Juergens, better known as ‘IJ’, was the first female sergeant in the NSW Police Force to receive the APM and the first woman to receive the NSW Police Medal. She served for 43 years, including as OIC of the Crime Prevention Section and as State Coordinator of the VIP Program.

A NSW Police Force statement outlined Senior Constable (Snr Cst) Pietens credentials:

Snr Cst Courtney Pietens is a proud Bundjalung women, growing up in Lismore and joining the NSW Police Force in 2013.

Her impact within the Ballina and Lismore regions has been significant, building positive community relationships, especially with Aboriginal youth and out-of-home care providers. Her youth mentoring role has seen a reduction in youth offending from an at-risk cohort on average from 12 to 15 offences per quarter to little or no offences.

Snr Cst Pietens has successfully collaborated with THWP, Police Rescue and various community groups to run events with her efforts in July 2022 seeing over 1,000 children attend an engagement day generating significant community goodwill. She is also the current State Vice Chair of the Aboriginal Employee Network.

The NSW Police Officer of the Year Awards is a joint initiative by Rotary Clubs of NSW and the NSW Police Force each year, to recognise professional excellence and dedication to service by officers and civilian staff.

In other awards, a detective senior constable from State Crime Command’s Drug and Firearms Squad is this year’s Rotary NSW Police Officer of the Year, recognised for his unwavering commitment to solving crimes, particularly during the challenges while operating during Covid-19 lockdowns.

This year, the Awards were presented by NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb APM; Deputy Premier of NSW and Minister for Police, The Hon. Paul Toole; Rotary Club of Sydney President, David Hirsch; and retired NSW Police Inspector, Irene Juergens APM.

The awards were announced at a gala dinner at the Hyatt Regency, Sydney, on Friday 4 November 2022, where hundreds of police officers, civilian employees, volunteers, their families, Rotarians and corporate supporters came together to recognise excellence in service across six categories, as well as the overall Police Officer of the Year.

Judges deemed Detective Senior Constable Nathan Gabriel worthy of the overall award due to his outstanding commitment to his investigations, with special mention of his work under Strike Force Heighway.

In announcing the Award, Det Snr Cst Gabriel’s work in implementing unique investigative techniques was highlighted.

The command’s submission described how Det Snr Cst Gabriel drew on his specialist drug manufacture experience – spanning more than eight years – coupled with an innate understanding of how organised crime syndicates operate, to develop a complex investigative plan, which incorporated traditional methodologies with dynamic and imaginative ways to progress the investigation over many months.

“When the Covid pandemic was at its peak, many traditional investigative strategies became unfeasible, yet Det Snr Cst Gabriel remained steadfast in his resolve and pressed on,” the submission detailed.

“The culmination of clever police work allowed Det Snr Cst Gabriel to lead his team to arrest three criminal syndicate members – who were all charged with murder – and the recovery of human remains on a remote property.”

Commissioner Webb commended Det Snr Cst Gabriel, and all nominees, for putting ‘service above self’, as the Rotary motto reads.

“I am incredibly proud of our finalists and winners, whose extraordinary passion for the job is an inspiration to us all,” Commissioner Webb said.

“Their commitment and dedication to community service and safety is exemplary.

“As we all celebrate their achievements, I also recognise the thousands of police officers, civilian employees and volunteers around the state who demonstrate expertise and dedication in their duties, day-in and day-out.

“Without them, our police force could not exist or function as it does so well today,” Commissioner Webb said.

Commissioner Webb congratulated Det Snr Cst Gabriel for also being named the Investigations and Counter Terrorism Police Officer of the Year.