A Melton police officer who has been in charge of the Melton Crime Investigation Unit since 2011 has been awarded an Australian Police Medal.
Spanning a 41-year career with Victoria Police, Detective Senior Sergeant Barry Jenks’ roles have included uniform, criminal investigation unit (CIU), and international deployment.
During 2004 and 2005, Detective Senior Sergeant Jenks was seconded to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) international deployment group – Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.
He led AFP Operations, managing large scale rioting in Honiara that lasted for six days and was commended for his work.
Since 2010, Detective Senior Sergeant Jenks has worked as a guide for No Roads Expeditions, leading over 20 treks across the Kokoda Track.
A number of the participants are emergency services and defence force personnel and are integral in improving the mental health and wellbeing of participants.
In 2006 he became a detective senior sergeant at detective training school where he undertook a number of strategic projects and was instrumental in training new detectives.
In 2011, Detective Senior Sergeant Jenks returned to Melton, joining the CIU.
Victoria Police said he is a leader in reducing the incidents of networked youth and youth gang offending in the Melton and it has been achieved through strong community stakeholder engagement to reduce youth gang crime, through information sharing with partners where these crimes frequently occur.
Detective Senior Sergeant Jenks said he’s incredibly proud and honoured to receive the Australian Police Medal and especially pleased it occurred while working at Melton.
“Melton has been such a large part of my policing career. I was first stationed here in 1983 and despite heading off to other opportunities, I always returned,” he said.
“I thoroughly enjoy working with this community and most importantly I’ve been lucky to work with wonderful people throughout my career, none more so than the current team at Melton. In so many ways those people are the reason I have received this award and I’m very grateful.”
Victoria Police chief commissioner Shane Patton congratulated Detective Senior Sergeant Jenks and five other police officers recognised with awards on January 26.
“Whether it’s been dealing with the aftermath of tragedy, responding to natural disasters or disrupting crime – the dedication of these employees has been unwavering,” he said.
