Fallen police remembered

TOMORROW is a day for remembering police officers who’ve fallen in the line of duty.

Blue Ribbon Day, or National Police Remembrance Day, occurs annually on 29 September and was established by the Blue Ribbon Foundation in 1999.

Barry Traynor, Police Veterans Victoria’s peer support officer for Ballarat said it’s an important day to acknowledge.

“Since the records have been kept from about 1929, we’ve had more than 171 police officers who’ve died serving the community,” he said.

“This date has really grown and grown. It’s our way of saying we still remember you, thanks for your service, and getting together and mixing with retired police. It’s very therapeutic.

“They put themselves in harm’s way every day of the week so when we lose one it’s important to sit back and reflect on what they’ve done.”

A local service will be held at St Peter’s Anglican Church from 11am which will include speeches, the police ode and an update on the latest deaths.

Mr Traynor served as a police officer in Ballarat for about 30 years, and said he’s never missed a local service.

“We’ll have some laughs, a few tears. It’s a real coping mechanism for many of our officers. There’s 108 retired police that live in Ballarat,” he said.

“It’s fascinating to see the conversations that can happen between members of the community and our local officers at the service. It really brings everyone together.

“171 police officers lost. You might think that’s not a lot over that period of time, but one’s too many.