Manning Great Lakes LAC police officers have been recognised for their role in the arrest of Malcolm Naden. Malcolm Naden was wanted for the brutal murder of two woman in the State's Central West and remained a fugitive for more than seven years.  In 2011, police searching the Nowendoc area were fired upon by Naden with one officer receiving a gunshot wound to the shoulder.  NSW Police, which previously had few leads on the whereabouts of Naden, quickly established a Strike Force in the Gloucester area to arrest Australia's now most wanted man.  ‘Strike Force Durkin’ was 'spearheaded' by officers from the Manning Great Lakes and Mid North Coast police commands. More than 400 staff were deployed during the four month operation with resources from throughout NSW utilised.  Officers who played a crucial part in the operation have been recognised by NSW police commissioner Andrew Scipione APM. The local officers attended an awards ceremony at the Art Gallery of NSW and were presented a range of awards from Commissioner Scipione. Superintendent Peter Thurtell, detective chief inspector Peter McKenna, detective sergeant John Williamson, sergeant John Broadley and leading senior constable Tim Cusack  received a commissioner’s commendation. Fellow officers received the commissioner’s unit citation and commissioner’s certificate of merit. These included senior constable Kurt Wiseman, detective senior constable Jamell Wilson, detective senior constables Paul Kelly, Renae Kelly, Alexandra Reid, Sharon Vandermey, superintendent Peter Thurtell, chief inspector John Sullivan and detective chief inspector Peter McKenna. “These are among the highest form of recognition you can receive in policing,” Superintendent Thurtell said.  He recalled the enormous amount of resources drawn from across Australia to support the operation.  “It was the largest single investigation conducted in Australia in terms of resources.”  He explained the task was rigorous, “for sworn and unsworn officers.”  In the field, there was rugged terrain to cover across the Barrington. “They were either long, hot days or freezing nights. There was enormous area to cover that Naden knew well. “We had to put in place strategies that encouraged him to make a mistake,” Mr Thurtell said.
