Long-term Warrnambool youth resource police officers Senior Constables John Keats and Trudy Morland are the recipient of this year's Dr John Birrell Award.
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The award was presented at East Warrnambool Rotary Club on Thursday night.
Dr Birrell was Victoria's police surgeon from 1957 to 1977 and his initiates have saved tens of thousands of lives.
Among his most significant moves were to introduce breathalysers, random breath testing, the .05 legislation, the abolition of the "6 o'clock swill", motorcyclists' helmets and the compulsory wearing of seatbelts.
Victoria's road toll peaked at 1061 in 1970, but legislative change, strict enforcement and improvements to roads have cut it by more than two-thirds.
Warrnambool police Acting Senior Sergeant Dean Greenwood, in charge of tasking and coordination, said the youth resource officers liaised with schools and road safety partners, including local councils, VicRoads and the south-west road share group.
"Senior constables Keats and Morland have instigated a lot of programs about road safety involving children and vulnerable roads users, such as mobility scooters drivers and the elderly," he said..
"They are really experienced and dedicated officers and full deserve this acknowledgement," he said.
Nominations were sought from police throughout the region who had shown a dedication to road safety, a reduction of road trauma, commitment to Integrity and work ethic, setting the standard regarding organisational values, are highly regarded by their peers and supervisors, engages with stakeholders and actively seeks out opportunities for development.
East Warrnambool Rotary's Bill Hewitt, in conjunction with regional police management, assessed the nominations and the Warrnambool officers were judged the winners.
The award is $2500 - that will be donated to a registered charity that support Road Safety/Road Trauma.
This year the chosen charity is Road Trauma Support Services Victoria which is a a not-for-profit organisation contributing to the safety and wellbeing of road users.
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