Greg Moore leaving Bourke

Superintendent Greg Moore (centre) with the Maranguka team – Jess Heaney, Margaret West, Karen Harding, Sandra Kelly, Mikaela Bowden, Samara Milgate, Vivanne Prince and Tyra Kelly PHOTO TWH

One of the most influential police officers to do a tour of duty in Bourke, Commander of the Central North Police District Superintendent Greg Moore, is moving from Bourke, to a new command.

On September 15, Greg Moore takes up the position as Commander of the South Coast Police District.

“It’s come about as part of the natural course of business within the police force, but it was a hard decision to make,” Superintendent Moore said.

“It all happened very quickly and there’s no perfect time for these sorts of things, but I was lucky to have occupied this position in Bourke for six years which is unusual in the police force.”

In 2013, Bourke topped the state in six out of eight major crime categories and Superintendent Moore was part of the ground-breaking Justice Reinvestment project established to stem the rising crime rate.

Superintendent Moore played a critical role in turning around the crime statistics in Bourke along with the staff at Maranguka, government agencies and the Justice Reinvest NSW team.

Although Bourke made headlines for being ‘the most dangerous place on earth’, Superintendent Moore leaves with the headlines more frequently heralding the positive changes in the town.

He credits the turnaround to community support, the people involved in the justice programs and the changes to the structure of the police force which he said put more local police at the front line, able to work more directly with their communities.

“The merger of Darling River and Castlereagh Commands in March last year saw a restructure of staffing and that’s been a challenging process,” he said.

Read more in the printed edition of the Western Herald