Medals for years of service within the force, G20 citations for helping at the 2014 Brisbane summit and individual awards were bestowed upon members at the All Seasons ceremony.

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Commander Paul Naylor, who presented the medals, said it was a tangible way of expressing thanks to the Victoria Police employees.

“We expect a lot from our people and when you look at the pressure they are under 24 hours a day, seven days a week, we really need to pause for a moment and to thank our members,” he said.

“And this is one opportunity where we do get that chance.”

The 111 recipients from division five of Victoria Police’s western region span police stations across the City of Greater Bendigo and Mount Alexander, Campaspe, Central Goldfields, Macedon Ranges and Loddon shires.

Two Central Goldfields detectives from the same squad were awarded Brad Robertson Awards for excellence at detective training school – Detective Senior Constable Heath Barker and Detective Senior Constable Alistair Duncan.

Detective Senior Constable Barker said it was an honour to receive the award, as did his colleague.

“Heath and I both share a great appreciation as to what it is to be a detective,” Detective Senior Constable Duncan said in accepting the award.

Among the officers to be recognised for years of service was Leading Senior Constable Len Igoe, whose lengthy career was acknowledged with a 40-year clasp.

The Bendigo police officer joined the force in 1975 and after a short time in Melbourne, moved to central Victoria where he has been ever since.

He trained members in the use of firearms, force and tactical communications through OSTT (operational safety and tactics training) from the ’90s before moving into the firearms office in 2007.

He said the advancement of computers had been one major change since he began his career, along with a worsening of community attitude, of which he said drugs were to blame.

“Ice is the driver of most of the work we do,” he said.

“Firearms burglaries have gone through the roof in past few years because of it.”

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Leading Senior Constable Igoe has been the divisional firearms officer at Bendigo since 2007 and said it was an area he had enjoyed.

But his 42-and-a-half-year career will come to an end next month, when he retires from the job at the end of next week.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said of his time in the force.

“It’s gone very quick.”

Sixty-one years ago, Constable William Harnetty gave his life in the line of duty.

It was a Wednesday when the police officer and fellow colleague Constable Coleman were called out to help a Carisbrook farmer rescue his sheep from flood waters.

But the job ended in tragedy when the boat the police officers were in overturned on Deep Creek, and Constable Harnetty drowned.

His sacrifice was honoured during Wednesday’s medal presentation with the Victoria Police Star awarded to the constable posthumously.

His son, Bill Harnetty, who accepted the award, said his father would have been very proud.

“It means a lot,” he said.

In presenting the medal, Acting Superintendent Kathryn Rudkins said it gave her great pleasure to acknowledge the work done by Constable Harnetty.

“Policing is often a dangerous thing and nowadays this is not something that we would hear about,” she said.

“But unfortunately the Harnetty family lost one their members that day and I could not imagine the tragedy that they live with every day.”

The Victoria Police Star is awarded to officers who are killed or seriously injured in the line of work and acknowledges the unique and often unpredictable dangers of the job.

More than 20 extended family members travelled to Bendigo for the ceremony, including Constable Harnetty’s nephew, Detective Sergeant Dennis Harnetty.

“The whole family is very proud,” he said of his uncle’s star.