Chris’s reward for service

Chris Major at home with his award | Photo by Wendy Morriss

Words by Wendy Morriss

Chris with William Major, his older brother, after receiving his award at Government House. Photo by his wife Kerrie

Victorian Police Inspector, Chris Major, was recently presented with his Australian Police Medal for a 45-year career of outstanding frontline service. The award was announced last year during Covid as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2021.

Chris, who has also served his community as a member of Rotary for 23 years, said the award was something that came out of the blue in the twilight time of his career when he least expected it. “I felt a bit embarrassed because I know there are other police members either before or currently serving that I have revered because of their community service and involvement in the organisation, and the sacrifices they make because of the job; so it was a complete surprise.”

He said he received a call before getting the award letting him know he had been nominated. The nominations then go through a process and the final assent of them is with the Governor General. “There are Australian Police Medals presented every year and they aren’t particular to rank,” he said. “Five other colleagues were presented with awards and one was to a leading senior constable that works at a one-man police station in the country, which I thought was fantastic.”

Chris received many congratulatory letters from various organisations and members of parliament. One from Acting Minister for Police and Emergency Services, praised his high standards of leadership, professionalism and quiet resolve across many years, providing the community with an outstanding level of service. The minister acknowledged Chris had demonstrated an outstanding ability to build relationships within the community, and that his fellow colleagues and the community hold him with the highest level of respect and trust. Also acknowledged was his expertise in the field of emergency management, having successfully led and managed a variety of incidents, including the aftermath of the Black Saturday bushfires that impacted across Gippsland.

He was also praised for his leadership, humility and respect that has continued in his contribution to Victoria Police’s transformation towards a capability-based approach to strategic planning investment.

Chris started his police career back in 1975 and said he’d have to say he’s spent most of his working life at Dandenong. He was there as a constable, as a sergeant and later as an inspector. He became Senior Sergeant at Narre Warren in 91 and then moved to Gippsland in 94 to work as the Officer in Charge at Moe Police Station. In 1997, he was promoted to Inspector and for the next 20 years he worked as the Local Area Commander in various police service areas.

In 2017, he took on an important role in the police’s Capability Management and Engagement Division. “I was working locally as an area commander in the Baw Baw Shire, when the superintendent asked me where I wanted to go, because Victoria Police has a rotation policy. Every four to five years you are expected to move on, which was introduced by Christine Nixon as an anti-corruption strategy when she was Police Chief.”

Chris said he was contacted by the Commander of the Capability Department in Melbourne who asked him to work in the planning area because he had so much operational experience. “I was apprehensive about commuting to Melbourne but it was agreed I’d work from home one day a week. Once I started, I realised how important the work there was. We were providing information to Executive Command on the forces capability to meet various demands. We also assessed ideas submitted by other departments that they thought would improve our services and put them through a process to see if they would be of benefit to the organisation and cost effective. I Really enjoyed that particular focus because mid-term, around four to five years ago, when Graham Ashton was Chief Commissioner, the government of the time injected $3 billion into Victoria police, which hadn’t been seen in 45 years of service.”

Chris said when he was young, he had no idea he was ever going to be a policeman. “I was working in the building industry as a bricklayer. One wet day when I was at home, a man I went to school with called in. He was a quiet sort of a person that had never been interested in doing anything physical but he drove in the driveway in a flash car, he had a short haircut and he’d obviously been to the gym. I asked what happened to him and he said he’d joined the police force. ‘Best job ever Chris you want to think about it,’ so I did. I went to the police station and asked for an application form and two months later I was in the academy.”

When asked how he felt about his career he said, “To have stayed there all this time there are obviously aspects of it that I enjoy. Having an impact on young people and being able to put them on the right path is very rewarding.”