AFP members recognised in King’s Birthday Honours
Editor’s note: Images of award recipients are available via Hightail.
Three AFP members have been recognised for their service, leadership and dedication to law enforcement and the Australian community in the King’s Birthday Honours today (10 June, 2024).
Assistant Commissioner Douglas Boudry and Sergeant Nikola Skoric have been awarded the Australian Police Medal (APM) for their outstanding service.
Doctor Jodie Ward has been awarded the Public Service Medal in recognition of her former leadership of the AFP’s National DNA Program for Unidentified and Missing Persons.
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw congratulated the members and thanked them for their collective decades of service to Australian policing and the community.
“It is wonderful to see our people honoured today for the King’s Birthday commemorations. I am extremely proud of Douglas, Nikola and Jodie for their unwavering dedication and commitment to the safety of Australians and our way of life,” Commissioner Kershaw said.
“These AFP members have each shown leadership in their chosen fields both professionally and personally, and represent the very best of the AFP.
“What our workforce does is important. That’s why any chance I get, I like to thank the dedicated men and women – the sworn and unsworn members – of the AFP.”
Assistant Commissioner Boudry began his AFP career in 1999 with ACT Policing, where he was stationed at Woden police station.
Over the course of his career Assistant Commissioner Boudry has worked in community policing, technical surveillance, digital forensics, covert and technical operations, and as the Commissioner’s chief of staff.
His leadership was influential in Operation Ironside, a three-year investigation into significant organised crime syndicates using a dedicated encrypted communications device to traffic illicit drugs and weapons to Australia, the biggest operation in the history of the AFP.
The operation led to the arrest of 392 alleged offenders who have been charged with 2355 offences. More than 6.6 tonnes of illicit drugs, $55.6 million in cash and 149 weapons/firearms have been seized as a result of Operation Ironside.
Assistant Commissioner Boudry also performed a key role in the establishment of the Artificial Intelligence for Law Enforcement and Community Safety Lab (AiLECS), a joint AFP-Monash University initiative which will use AI to develop technology-based initiatives to support law enforcement and make local and online communities safer.
Assistant Commissioner Boudry is currently ACT Policing’s Deputy Chief Police Officer and is responsible for all operations, investigations and employee welfare.
Sergeant Skoric has served in the AFP since 2007 after beginning his career as a protective service officer.
He transitioned into policing in 2011 and soon moved to the AFP’s Crime Command where he undertook advanced training and excelled in various specialist roles across a number of portfolios.
Sergeant Skoric has been recognised as an exemplary leader, generating opportunities to celebrate the success of his colleagues and showcasing their strengths.
He is currently part of the AFP’s International Command posted in Washington as the Cyber Crime Liaison Officer.
Doctor Ward is an internationally recognised forensic human identification expert and joined the AFP in 2020 to lead the National DNA Program for Unidentified and Missing Persons.
During her four years with the AFP, Doctor Ward was instrumental in spearheading the establishment and implementation of the National DNA Program which helped resolve 19 missing person cold cases.
The National DNA Program enhanced collaboration between the AFP, state and territory police, along with coronial and forensic agencies to resolve cold cases of unidentified and missing persons.
Doctor Ward has had a wide-reaching impact on the Australian community with her pioneering forensic identification capabilities positioning the AFP at the forefront of best practice in human identification practices in Australia and globally.
