Today, 20 South Australia Police (SAPOL) staff members were awarded a Staff Excellence Award at the South Australia Police Academy. Staff Excellence Awards (previously known as Level 1 Service Awards) acknowledge employees and members of the public for acts of bravery or meritorious service in isolated instances over a period time.
SAPOL has been unable to issue these awards in the traditional way due to COVID-19 gathering restrictions.
Commissioner of Police Grant Stevens praised recipients at today's ceremony.
"I am immensely proud of all recipients of a Staff Excellence Award today. Our officers are trained and equipped to protect the public and maintain their safety, but there are still inherent dangers in policing," said Commissioner Stevens.
"These officers have demonstrated bravery in the face of confronting and dangerous situations with the one ultimate aim to ensure the safety of the community. At times this has meant putting their own lives at risk to save those in vulnerable situations. I commend these officers who are a credit to themselves and to SAPOL."
The awards, recipients and a short summary of the recipient's acts of bravery/meritorious service are below. To access more detail on each of the recipients please click here
Police Bravery Medal
Police Bravery Medals are awarded to SAPOL employees who perform exceptional and outstanding acts of bravery or act courageously and responsibly in the face of potential or actual danger to their life, or in the face of the possibility of serious injury while performing their duty.
Recipients of a Police Bravery Medal are:
Constable Jesse Williams and Constable Justin Young for their brave actions at the scene of a residential house fire at Seacombe Gardens in October 2019;
Senior Constable First Class Gregory Blieden for his courageous actions at the scene of a house fire at Paralowie in May 2019;
Detective Brevet Sergeant Robert Lengyel for his courageous actions at the scene of an aggravated robbery at a licensed premises in West Lakes Shore in February 2019.
Senior Constable Steven Westcott and Senior Sergeant David Lewis for their courageous actions at the scene of a residential house fire in Glengowrie in August 2015; and
Detective Senior Sergeant First Class Glenn Jeffries (then Probationary Constable) and Sergeant James Tappin (then Constable) for their courageous actions at the scene of a domestic dispute at Elizabeth North in April 1977.
Certificate of Merit
Certificate of Merit is awarded to an individual or a group of employees for superior performance of duty. This may include duty performed at a personal risk.
The recipient of a Certificate of Merit is Constable Jock McLeay for his courageous actions at a domestic violence incident at Ingle Farm in May 2019.
A Unit Certificate of Merit is awarded to current and previous members of the Special Tasks and Rescue Group- Operations Section for their superior performance in response to a high-risk and volatile incident in August 2020 where a male offender had threatened to blow up his house using liquid petroleum gas.
Certification of Commendation
Certificate of Commendation is awarded to an individual or group of employees for outstanding work or effectiveness when performing a duty.
The recipient of a Certificate of Commendation is Detective Brevet Sergeant Trudie Pursche for her actions leading to the rescue of a young child at a house fire in Paralowie in May 2019.
Certificate of Appreciation
Certificate of Appreciation is awarded to SAPOL employees for their high levels of performance beyond that is required in their everyday duties or in their position information document. It is designed to recognise high performance and encourage the repetition of such actions.
The recipient of a Certificate of Appreciation is Sergeant Kerry Mountford in recognition of his actions at the scene of a residential house fire at Glengowrie in August 2015.
Image above: Recipients of Staff Excellence Awards at the awards ceremony.
