Queen’s Birthday Honours

Four members of New Zealand Police were recognised by Her Majesty in the 2009 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Detective Superintendent Malcolm Burgess Photo: Mike Johnston Christchurch photography section

Detective Superintendent Malcolm Burgess, Christchurch was appointed as a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit M.N.Z.M for services to the New Zealand Police

Detective Superintendent Burgess has had a police career in the Auckland, Central, Tasman, Waikato, and Canterbury districts spanning 33 years.
Over the years, he has been involved in many homicide and serious robbery investigations and complex criminal investigations, all of which he has completed to a high standard and in a professional manner.

He was seconded to PNHQ to support the Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct (CIPC). He led Operation Loft, the phase of the inquiry which involved the collating and reviewing of some 200 criminal and Police Complaints Authority complaint files since 1979.

Upon completion of Operation Loft, Detective Superintendent Burgess assumed overall management of all CIPC matters and prepared a comprehensive programme of testimony for hearing by the Commission.

It is thanks to his dedication and professionalism to the inquiry that the CIPC have been able to understand many of the complexities of police service and have their queries substantially addressed.

Senior Constable Daniel O'Connell Photo: NZ Police

A M.N.Z.M. was also awarded to Senior Constable Daniel O’Connell from Wellington for services to the New Zealand Police.

Senior Constable O’Connell has served with the New Zealand Police for 38 years and was the Parliamentary Constable with the Diplomatic Protection Squad for some 15 years.
He has played a significant role in Search and Rescue (SAR) with the LandSAR and PoliceSAR Teams for more than 35 years.

He is a skilled member of the Incident Management Team and is a member of the Wellington LandSAR Steering Committee.

He has participated in many high-profile searches, including the 1997 plane crash in the Tararuas and more recently the searches to locate people missing in the Tararuas and Orongorongos. He also mentors staff new to search and rescue and has flown in many air observer missions with the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

He was also deployed to Thailand and undertook investigation work in the International Disaster Victim Identification Centre after the Boxing Day tsunami.

In 2006, Senior Constable O’Connell was awarded a Lou Grant Award for his excellence in and contribution to Police SAR. He has been involved in hockey umpiring for many years and coordinates and mentors youth umpires. Senior Constable O’Connell was involved with athletics and running for many years, was a New Zealand Representative and Police Cross Country Champion for 20 years straight until he retired from running at 40 years.

Senior Sergeant Ross Alan Barnaby Photo: NZ Police

The Queens Service Medal QSM was awarded to Senior Sergeant Ross Alan Barnaby from Auckland Central for services to the New Zealand Police.

Senior Sergeant Barnaby has been responding to and investigating incidents of serious crime in the Auckland region since he joined the New Zealand Police in 1977. He was a significant member of the Auckland Armed Offenders Squad and the Special Tactic Group for more than 20 years; attending on average over 80 operations a year.

He established the first Sniper Observer Course and coordinated the annual New Zealand Police Sniper Concentration Course, which has participants attend from overseas.

He was in charge of the Auckland Sniper Team and provided security for the US delegation during APEC in 1999 and was seconded to the New South Wales Police on the High-Risk Counter Terrorist Project policing the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

As the Auckland City district deployment coordinator, he ensured the deployment of frontline staff and the facilitation of the Single Non-Emergency Number project at a district level.

Senior Sergeant Barnaby is the officer in charge of the Auckland Central Police Station, one of the busiest stations in the country.

Constable Bryan Emlyn Ward Photo: Police Photography Section, Auckland

Constable Bryan Emlyn Ward from Otahuhu was also awarded a QSM for services to the New Zealand Police.
Constable Ward has served the New Zealand Police for more than 10 years, principally as the community constable in Otahuhu. He is notable for his work with the local residents, helping to improve community safety and increase the level of engagement in the community.

He has also worked with and developed a valuable rapport with youth in the area.

He has conducted work on youth gangs and has visited local schools with at-risk youth to conduct presentations about gangs and emphasise the difference between right and wrong.

Constable Ward developed the television series Bryan and Bobby, an educational puppet show which tours local schools dealing with issues such as keeping safe, stealing, tagging, and respect.

He is a volunteer with Duffy Books in Homes, the Variety Club, and the South Auckland Health Foundation, of which he is a Kidz First Ambassador. He was pivotal in solving Operation Mortar in 2005 by appealing to local students of Otahuhu College for information.

Constable Ward also established the Otahuhu Steering Group and was made a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow in 2003. He is the national ambassador for Blue Light.