Six ThinkUKnow volunteers have been recognised by the Australian Federal Police as part of this year’s International Volunteer Day.
The awards are provided to ThinkUKnow volunteers who demonstrate ongoing commitment to the success of the program through the quality and quantity of presentations delivered, as well as their role in championing online child safety within their organisation and local community.
State and Territory police youth presenters have also recognised through the ‘Youth Partner of the Year’ Award, given to the organisation that has delivered the most youth presentations per capita and/or contributed the most towards the success of the program.
AFP Coordinator Crime Operations, Marina Simoncini said the work of the ThinkUKnow volunteers and partners cannot be understated.
“These awards recognise the effort and dedication of our ThinkUKnow volunteers and our industry partners who continue to make a difference for young people, their parents, carers and teachers.”
“I commend their dedication to online safety education. It is integral to our community that this work continues and Australians continue to be reached.”
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) was awarded the ThinkUKnow Youth Partner of the Year Award due to its ongoing support and expansion of the program in metropolitan and regional areas.
In 2017-18 QPS volunteers delivered 152 presentations to more than 10,000 students. During the 2018 presentation training rollout, a record number of 200 QPS members attended training.
“The work of Queensland Police Service and the expansion of ThinkUKnow across the state is a fantastic achievement. I would like to personally thank the members who have dedicated themselves to championing online safety in addition to their official duties.”
The awards recognise the most engaged volunteers for the program from industry partners and law enforcement organisations.
2018 ThinkUKnow Volunteer of the Year Award winners:
- Shane Allred—Australian Federal Police
- Graeme Ellice—Bankwest
- Merryl-Ann Tidyman—Commonwealth Bank of Australia
- Gail Collins—Datacom
- Ray Fleming—Microsoft
- Graham Higgerson—Neighbourhood Watch Australasia.
2018 commendations:
- Matt—Australian Federal Police
- Damian Glover and Jason Leong—Bankwest
- Stephen Goddard—Commonwealth Bank of Australia
- Kal Thompson—Datacom
- Grant Clayton—Microsoft
- David Colville—Independent.
2018 Youth Partner of the Year:
- Queensland Police Service.
ThinkUKnow is a partnership between the Australian Federal Police, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Datacom, and Microsoft, and is delivered in collaboration with Neighbourhood Watch Australasia and State and Territory police.
In the 2017-18 financial year, volunteers and law enforcement officers delivered presentations to 17,144 parents, carers and teachers and 2,711 presentations to 196,881 students across Australia.
Using real police case studies and examples, through face-to-face presentations the program addresses online challenges including child exploitation and grooming, sexting, image based abuse, cyberbullying, reputation management and how to get help if something goes wrong.
For more information about the ThinkUKnow program visit
https://www.thinkuknow.org.au/
Media enquiries:
AFP National Media: (02) 6131 6333
