Three Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers have been recognised with one of Policing's highest accolades in this year's Australia Day Honours List.
Assistant Commissioner Fiona Drennan, Detective Sergeant Bernard Geason and Sergeant Craig McPherson will each receive an Australian Police Medal (APM) in acknowledgment of their service to the Australian community.
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw APM congratulated the officers, who together have served almost 90 years in the AFP, and thanked them for their commitment to protecting Australians.
"Fiona, Bernard and Craig have devoted years of their lives to not only making Australia a safer place, but they have also worked tirelessly to support our international partners, helping to prevent and disrupt transnational crime on a global scale through their overseas deployments.
"Assistant Commissioner Drennan's work in helping to establish the AFP Operations Coordination Centre, the pulse of all AFP operations in the country, will remain a lasting legacy in our organisation.
"Detective Sergeant Geason's work in the Counter Terrorism space has been invaluable. He's been a crucial part in the development of the High Risk Terrorist Offender Team in Melbourne, ensuring the residual risk posed by convicted terrorists in our country continues to be mitigated.
"In ACT Policing, Sergeant McPherson conceived, developed and delivered PACER (Police, Ambulance and Clinician Early Response), a patient-centred model of response that has led to fewer hospital admissions and has had incredible feedback from the community."
Assistant Commissioner Fiona Drennan joined the AFP in 1984 and received her Detective Designation in 1990 while in ACT Policing. She has also worked in the AFP's Eastern Region and overseas with the United Nations, and in Hong Kong. During her policing career, Assistant Commissioner Drennan has worked within the portfolios of Intelligence, Serious and Organised Crime, Learning and Development, International Operations and Specialist Operations.
Detective Sergeant Bernard Geason joined the AFP in 1999 and initially worked in the Sydney Office where he served in the response and operations teams. He has also deployed to Pakistan and London as part of the AFP's International Network. Returning to Melbourne in 2016, he subsequently served as a Senior Team Leader within the Counter Terrorism portfolio and has also established the Counter Foreign Interference and Special Investigations Team within the AFP's Southern Command.
Sergeant Craig McPherson joined the AFP in 1988, initially serving within ACT Policing at Woden Station, City Station and the Traffic Branch. He deployed to Cyprus with the UN in 2005. He deployed to the Solomon Islands several times, as part of the International Peace Monitoring Team, the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) and again in 2006 in response to civil unrest. Sergeant McPherson then returned to Canberra to work in ACT Policing and the AFP's Learning and Development portfolio.
Interview requests are available by contacting the AFP National Media team.
