THREE Bendigo police officers have been commended for negotiations that ended with the safe arrest of an armed man.
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The trio was among 60 central Victorian officers receiving medals at the Victoria Police Awards ceremony at the All Seasons in Bendigo.
Sergeant Rosemary Rowe, Senior Constable Rodney McDowell and First Constable Hannah Pentreath were called to a property east of Bendigo in February 2018 after a family dispute escalated.
Their "decisive action" led to the arrest of the man, who had earlier fired a shot close to his family and police officers.
First Constable Pentreath said the man had made comments about suicide and approached officers with the firearm.
"We get called to a lot of family violence incidents and there is always the possibility that they could escalate with suicide," she said.
"You can't get complacent. This one did escalate.
"But if I could have picked any two people to attend that incident with I was fortunate to have two of Bendigo's best."
The three officers, with assistance of the police air wing, talked the man into putting down the firearm.
"That was definitely thanks to the Sergeant, Rosie Rowe. She was amazing and was the lifesaver there, in that situation," First Constable Pentreath said.
"For me, it was one of those jobs where you see how much you have learnt, how much practice went into it."
Officers praised for handling of man armed with knife
In a separate incident, police were deployed to a man armed with a knife inside a vehicle last November.
Five Macedon Ranges officers were commended on Wednesday for their handling of the situation without the help of specialist police.
"In the city you would have a specialist response team with you in about twenty minutes. You don't have that luxury up here," Superintendent Kearney said.
"So these members were forced to do a risk assessment and take action all on their own."
Police are often the first people the community calls when someone wants to commit suicide or self-harm, Superintendent John Kearney said.
"Often they must do very significant things with very limited resources," he said.
After extensive negotiations, the man in the car began self-harming and police quickly deployed "tactical options", the members' citation read.
"They were able to arrest him and get him some treatment," Superintendent Kearney said.
Sergeant Shane Wyatt was commended for his leadership and teamwork during the incident.
Senior Constable Donna Campbell, First Constable Brent McDougall, Leading Senior Constable Leslie Drew and Senior Constable Kristian Hurford were commended for their "courageous actions and teamwork".
Assistant Commissioner Cindy Millen, who oversees Victoria Police's western region, said every officer is well-trained in what they do.
"One thing I talk about in the western region all the time is that your 'permission switch' is turned off," she said.
"What I mean by that is that you don't need permission to do the right thing ... so don't be afraid to make decisions so that we are not going through the whole chain of command and losing timing on decisions we need to make."
If this article has raised issues for you, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 224 636 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.
Campaspe crime fight: 'It was really nice to literally ... help people I grew up with'
A POLICE task force formed to combat a spate of burglaries and thefts in the Campaspe region has been commended for "significant" decreases in crime.
A group of officers from multiple units in Bendigo, Echuca and elsewhere was brought together after a spike in crimes, Superintendent Kearney said.
"Sometimes areas need help and back in January in Campaspe they needed some help," he said.
"This team dedicated a lot of hours to catching the crooks who were causing problems in Campaspe and they did such a terrific job that after a short time they were able to return to their normal duties."
Bendigo-based Detective Senior Constable Renee Campbell was part of the team that formed for two months in her hometown of Echuca.
"It was really upsetting for people to have their privacy invaded by someone coming into their home unwelcomed and uninvited," she said.
"So it was really nice to literally ... help people grew grown up with."
The group made a number of arrests and was able to reunite people with property.
Detective Senior Constable Campbell was among five officers commended for their drive, initiative, dedication, teamwork and investigative skill.
Other members included Leading Senior Constable Danny Wolters, Leading Senior Constable John Atley, Leading Senior Constable Tanner Christie and Senior Constable Bianca Cola.
Sergeant Grant Thompson was commended for his supervision, drive, initiative, teamwork and investigative skill while leading the Campaspe Crime Task Force.
Sergeant Daryl Costelow also received a commendation for his work with the task force.
Detective commended for mentoring next generation of investigators
A POLICE officer who inspired the next generation of budding detectives and helped drive down crimes like thefts has been recognised with a divisional commendation.
Detective Leading Senior Constable Matthew Goss was part of Bendigo's volume crime team for two years, with 12 co-workers going on since he started to land jobs as detectives.
"They are sent to the high volumes team from uniform to hone their skills. That's where they decide if they want that career path as a detective," he said.
"I 'spose all I do is try and impart some of those skills and knowledge on them."
The volume crime team is a good training ground for detectives because the work is more complex than what they encounter while in uniform, Detective Leading Senior Constable Goss said.
"Taking out search warrants, applying for affidavits - that's your bread-and-butter investigation as a detective.
"It starts off with more basic crimes like a series of burglaries and goes up into more complex drug investigations."
It was the first time Detective Leading Senior Constable Goss had worked with junior members.
"It was the first time I really had a chance to be a mentor, really," he said.
"I thoroughly enjoyed it."
Detective Leading Senior Constable Goss has since taken a job with Bendigo's sexual offences and child abuse investigation team, which also employs members he mentored in the volume crime unit.
If anything in this article has raised issues for you, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 224 636 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.
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