Greek Australian Acting Inspector Andrew Markakis was presented with the Police Multicultural Media Award 2017 at the end of November.
The award was given in recognition of his contribution to strengthening ties between the Victorian Police Force and the Greek as well as other ethnic communities.
The awarding ceremony was held at Melbourne Government House and the award was presented by Victoria Police Acting Chief Commissioner Andrew Crisp, who praised Markakis for his outstanding contribution towards enhancing understanding between Victoria Police and the Multicultural Community of Victoria.
Crisp also said that Andrew Markakis is a great example of productive diversity and his work shows what community policing is all about. According to the citation published by Neos Kosmos, the Greek Australian Inspector has made good use of his bilingual and cultural background in order to forge a strong liaison with the Greek community through 3XY Radio Hellas and several Greek newspapers, thus being able to raise the community’s awareness of significant and relevant topics.
Andrew Markakis works at Victoria Police Headquarters as a member of the Transit and Public Safety Command. His duties include strategic coordination and business support offered to specialist police units of which are Public Order and Transit Safety Police, the Bomb Squad as well as the Dog Squad.
In addition to his duties mentioned above, Markakis has also organised radio interviews and informative shows with SBS Greek radio program, Rythmos, while he regularly keeps Greek newspapers and other mainstream publications updated as it regards to the work done by Victoria Police.
The distinguished police officer told Neos Kosmos that he is passionate about promoting the profile of Victoria Police to culturally diverse communities through active engagement and participation in a variety of media. He also added that in this way he is able to use his position as a police officer to strengthen community ties and build confidence in the police force, a course of action which he finds to be rewarding.
Source: thegreekobserver.com