He's helped drive down Moree's high crime rates and has been a driving force behind the more positive relationships built between police and young people, but now Inspector Martin Burke will farewell Moree as he moves on to a new role on the mid-north coast.
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Inspector Burke has been in Moree for just under six years, half of which he's served as the officer-in-charge at Moree Police Station.
He first came to Moree as the duty officer for operation and Aboriginal issues and looked after the wider areas of Boggabilla, Mungindi, Warialda and Bingara, under the old Barwon Local Area Command.
In February 2018, he was promoted to Moree Police Station's officer-in-charge when the New England Police District was formed under a massive restructure of the NSW Police force.
With a strong focus on community engagement and holistic views of policing, Inspector Burke has helped put a dent in Moree's high crime rates which have seen a steady decline over the past five years.
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He says that would have to be his biggest highlight during his time in Moree.
"That hasn't been through policing alone," he said.
"It's a combination of policing, community engagement and working with services in the community to achieve those results which have been enduring.
"That has been pleasing."
Some of the more memorable wins for Inspector Burke include the jailing of two people following an armed robbery at Bellata Service Station, which led to a lengthy police pursuit through paddocks and finishing at the Warialda Showground; the arrest of a wanted man in Mungindi which was a result of the assistance of the community, particularly local agricultural pilots who helped police in their air and land search; and a number of big police pursuits which ended safely thanks to good teamwork.
"We've had some really good results with serious offences, while working with limited resources," Inspector Burke said.
"But when we've needed them we've been able to get those resources, for example in cross-border operations, particularly around Mungindi, where we've had the dog squad, rural crime officers mobilised very quickly which has had pleasing outcomes."
One of Inspector Burke's biggest challenges in Moree has been tackling juvenile crime rates which has plagued the town for a number of years.
Recognising that something needed to be done to address Moree's youth crime issues, Inspector Burke teamed up with Moree PCYC youth case worker Senior Constable Mel Robson to establish the Saturday night PCYC program in early 2019.
"We couldn't police our way out of all our issues, so I felt it was important that we had a good relationship with all the community, particularly youth," Inspector Burke said.
Since the PCYC program was established, police noticed a dramatic decline in the rates of youth crime, as well as significant improvements in their relationships, not only with young people, but with other services in the community.
"The success of that program was judged by not only the young people turning up each week but also our staff turning up at jobs where young people are now engaging with police," Inspector Burke said.
Other crime has also dropped significantly in recent years, as reflected in the quarterly Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.
Anecdotally, Inspector Burke said calls for police assistance are down across the board.
"We're now taking 60 per cent of the calls we were three years ago," he said.
"The challenge now is we can't just measure where we're at in terms of crime figures; we need to look at issues that are not easy to capture in data, like social issues.
"That's the big challenge moving forward for the community - increasing student attendance at school, increasing literacy and numeracy levels and improved health outcomes. That's where I see big things moving forward and even in that space, police have a role to play in community engagement."
Friday is Inspector Burke's last day in Moree before he moves to Kempsey, where he will be the officer-in-charge, but also taking on the portfolio of Aboriginal issues for the Mid-North Coast Police District. He will also be a liaison between the Mid-North Coast Police District and corrective services.
And while he's looking forward to a new challenge, Inspector Burke said he will certainly miss the people in Moree.
"People from all walks of life," he said.
"You learn so much. I've learnt a lot of Aboriginal culture and local history, not only in Moree but in neighbouring areas.
"Also, the support from the community has been wonderful. Strangely enough, it's the people you didn't think you'd get support from who ended up being the most supportive, which is really pleasing. Even when things are not ideal, I've always tried to stump up and answer questions that the community have got.
"The staff are fairly junior here, but their commitment to their work has been tremendous. Their experience working in Moree is only going to hold them in good stead in their career."
Inspector Burke said he plans to return to Moree to play some golf and will keep his membership with the Moree Services Golf Club so he can keep in touch with people.
