The door was recently opened to professional designers, and members of the public, to enter a design competition for the National Police Memorial in Canberra. Justice Minister Chris Ellison and Queensland Police Minister Judy Spence – as the Australasian Police Ministers Council chair – launched the competition in Parliament House in March.

“Today we begin the search for the design for a memorial to acknowledge the role of police personnel, to recognize their contribution to civil society and, most of all, to pay tribute to their sacrifice,” said Ms Spence.

She said the memorial would ultimately inform current and future generations of the great community regard for the “exceptional and extraordinary work” of police officers.

The open, single-stage design competition, run by the National Capital Authority, was intended to lead to the engagement of a winning designer. That person would work with the authority, and the memorial steering committee, in the design and construction of the memorial.

Part of the challenge for competing designers was to provide:
• A symbolic interpretation of police work acknowledging the risk of danger.
• An appreciation of those human traits, such as strength of character and courage, required by officers dealing with some of society’s worst offenders.
• A reflection of the unknown nature of the many situations to which police are often called, acknowledging the ever-present threat of personal danger.
• An acknowledgement of the painstaking tasks, skills and patience involved in investigations, and the gathering of evidence and the degree of dedication required for effective police work.

A competition jury has a prize pool of up to $30,000 to distribute between the winning entries.

Prizes include:
• $15,000 (first prize).
• Up to five additional prizes from the balance of the pool to be distributed at the discretion of the jury.

Police Federation of Australia president, Peter Alexander, and all of his state counterparts, attended the competition launch.

“The announcement of the design competition today is a significant step in the 20-year process towards establishing a national police memorial,” said Mr Alexander.

“The in excess of 700 police officers across Australia who have paid the ultimate sacrifice will all be honoured on this memorial.

“Those names will be a permanent reminder of the dangers police officers face on a daily basis, and the ultimate sacrifice each of these has made.

“The truly sad part is that blank space needs to be left on the memorial for even more names in the future, because we all know Australian police officers will, unfortunately, continue to die whilst protecting their communities.”

The competition closed in late April, before the jury’s deliberation in early May. Referral of the design to the Canberra National Memorial Committee will take place this month, before the competition winners are announced in July.

The Memorial will be constructed in Kings Park, Canberra, directly behind the National Carillon. It is scheduled to be finished in time for its dedication on Police Remembrance Day on September 29, 2006.

Funding for the $2.4 million construction will be shared among:
• The Federal government ($800,000).
• State and Territory governments ($800,000).
• Police officers through the Police Federation of Australia ($800,000).

The Police Federation of Australia fundraising charity, the National Police Memorial Fund, has been granted tax-concession charity status. Donations of $2 and above will, therefore, be tax deductible.