A police officer with 40 years' dedication to her community and an officer whose work in both search and rescue, and forensics, has thrust him into some of Tasmania's most impactful recent events, have been recognised in Tasmania Police awards for the Western District.
Tasmania Police Commissioner Donna Adams on Tuesday led the praise for Sergeant Lee-Anne Walters and for First Class Constable Dean Wotherspoon during the annual awards and medals ceremony, held at the Devonport Country Club.
Officers received medals recognising their exceptional service, with recipients at periods of 10, 20, 30 and 40 years' service.
Commander's Certificates of Appreciation were also awarded to Senior Constable Adam Medhurst and Sergeant Nigel Sheahen.
Constable Dean Wotherspoon, a 30-year veteran of Tasmania Police, received two recognitions on Tuesday - a Commissioner's Appreciation Award for his 25 years in Search and Rescue, and the John AG Bird Memorial Award, which is presented annually in recognition of exemplary work in the field of forensics.
Over the past nine years, Constable Wotherspoon has been the lead scene manager at some of the most impactful incidents in Tasmania - murder charges, serious crime, and the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy.
As one of the state's most experienced search and rescue officers, he has been involved in complex operations on land, sea and underground, and maintains a key role in the training of Tasmania Police search and rescue personnel.
"The two roles I do are a great balance of challenge and reward. I consider myself lucky, as I still look forward to going to work each day," Constable Wotherspoon said.
"There are times where I can be coordinating millions of dollars of assets and, literally, making life and death decisions.
"It's perhaps cliched, but the roles I perform genuinely have a significant impact on peoples' lives. Unfortunately, in those two roles, if I am busy, it does mean something has gone wrong for someone, but I am privileged to be able to play a part in helping them."
Constable Wotherspoon said he was elated to receive the awards.
"It's an absolute honour. These awards are peer nominated and therefore, to be thought highly of by your peers, for the work that we all do, is very humbling," he said.
Lee-Anne Walters joined Tasmania Police in 1985 as an 18-year-old.
A girl who grew up on a family farm near Brighton, Sergeant Walters had her first posting to Burnie in December of her recruit year and never envisaged the North-West would be home.
Such is her commitment to her community, Sergeant Walters has been the senior officer at Smithton Police Station for more than 25 years.
"My intention was to spend two years on the North-West coast before returning to Hobart. As it is, I have never left the Western District," she said.
"I joined Tasmania Police with the view to help people, and I still find satisfaction every day in serving my community. Seeing people make positive choices and turning things around in their life, has always been a highlight."
Sergeant Walters spent a decade working as a detective in Criminal Investigations Branch and drugs in both Burnie and Devonport stations and was promoted to uniform sergeant in 1998. A year later, she accepted the position at Smithton.
"I had worked in plain clothes for the previous decade. Family was the reason I moved back to uniform, but my connection with the community through involvement in Adopt a Cop, emergency management planning, Community Road Safety Partnership and involvement with other community groups has been a huge part of my reason to stay. Circular Head is a wonderful community," Sergeant Walters said.
After 40 years in Tasmania Police, Sergeant Walters said changes in technology, uniforms and equipment, plus the investment in specialist resources, were positive markers.
"When I went to Burnie, uniform was in Central Police Station, which was on old pub.," she said. "The facilities were poor, with mice often running around the muster room."
"Our uniforms and equipment were not practical. Reports were all paper-based and typed on manual typewriters.
"The community was generally respectful of police, and you'd find young offenders were more scared of their parents' reaction if they were dealt with by police.
"There are certainly challenges in policing today brought about by changes in society and some of the issues we see associated with mental health, with drug dependency and that lack of respect, not just for police, but for our communities in general."
While policing has changed much since the mid-1980s, Sergeant Walters said the core function of serving your community remained the same.
"I'm certainly proud to have served on the frontline for 40 years."
First Class Constable Dean Wotherspoon with Tasmania Police Commissioner Donna Adams. Picture: Tasmania Police
Tasmania Police Smithton senior officer Sergeant Lee-Anne Walters, who has reached a 40-year service milestone, with her parents Merilyn Shorter and Ken Shorter. Picture: Tasmania Police
