After 42 years of service with the NSW Police Force at the Dee Why police station, Sergeant Alan Le Surf, one of the longest-serving officers in New South Wales, has taken a well-deserved retirement.
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He began working for the department as a driver for prison vans in and out of jails in Sydney in 1979, following his training at the old Redfern Police Academy.
Sgt Le Surf became part of the security planning team when Prince Charles and Princess Diana visited Australia in 1988. He even had the chance to have a short conversation with the late Diana on a train back to Sydney from the Central Coast.
One of the highlights of his career was when he received a Regional Commander’s Citation for the role he played in the investigation and the charging of a man who stabbed another man to death at a bus stop outside Warringah Mall in 2012.
A retirement ceremony to send off Sgt Le Surf was scheduled at the end of his last shift, but due to the restrictions brought by the pandemic, the event was cancelled.
Despite that, Sgt Le Surf received a Commemorative Service Board from the Northern Beaches Police Area Command, showing his rank badges, citations and awards, recognising his service for over four decades. His head, Superintendent Pat Sharkey, also offered a farewell speech to the 60-year-old retiring police officer.
In the time he’s been on the job, Le Surf has become a fixture in the community. He helped people through his voluntary community work with Life Education, an organisation that provides health, drug and alcohol education to empower kids to make safe and healthy choices.
Did you know that Sgt Le Surf was also a former councillor for Manly Council? During his time as a serving officer, he spent almost a decade as a councillor for the Council.
He has lived in Manly all his life and has had an association with Manly Council since 1979 when he was a member of the Manly Youth Council. He established Kangaroo Rock and is a member of Manly Apex 40.
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His years of dedicated service to the community made him a recipient of a prestigious award, having been named as the Manly Citizen of the Year in 2003.
He received numerous awards as a police officer, which includes the National Medal, with three clasps for his years of service; the National Police Service Medal and his recognition at the Commissioner’s Unit Citation as part of the 2007 APEC contingent, where he joined a squad tasked to plan and manage the event.
