Rotary police officer of the year awards pass the pub test

“It’s great to win an award, but you don’t an award to be successful as a police officer.’’

Julian Griffiths, the Superintendent of Campbelltown Police Area Command (pictured), nailed it with the comment above at the Rotary Police officer of the year awards 2022.

It matched my thinking on the night, that while there are arguments for and against awards as such, these Rotary ones deserve to be praised.

Of course it’s nice to get a pat on the back, whatever it is you do, but as Supt Griffiths pointed out, you don’t need an award to be successful.

That applies to everyone, and not just police officers.

But back to the Rotary awards, and this is what makes them so wonderful.

I doubt if a single police officer has ever thought about winning an award when they’ve put their life on the line trying to apprehend a criminal.

The Rotary awards are good because they are basically a big thank you to the police for keeping us safe.

Officers are nominated by anyone in their squad or station, or even a superior.

The judging panel is made up of Rotary people and senior police.

But the bottom line is that there is no monetary gain for anyone involved in these awards, another reason they are so popular.

The truth is that we live in an age where we are flooded with awards of one kind or another.

A new award seems to be springing up every month.

And some people run awards as a business for profit.

There is nothing wrong with anyone making a living from a legitimate business, but it would be good to see more disclosure from privately run awards about where any money made goes.

And indeed some transparency also if they purport to raise money for charities.

Not all awards going around at present pass the pub test.

One that passes the test with flying colours is Rotary police officer of the year.