The National Police Memorial
The National Police Memorial (NPM) honours and remembers those police men and women, from all of the Australian police jurisdictions, who gave their lives in the line of duty, or who have died as a result of their duties, be it on service here within Australia or overseas.
The memorial consists of a bronze commemorative wall and a stone-paved apron. The wall holds 1200 touchstones of which, to date, 719 are dedicated to those who fell; each bearing the respective officer’s rank, name and jurisdiction, and the date and place of death. The names are not in any order of precedence but randomly positioned across the width of the Memorial.
The memorial is a ‘living’ structure and should any names need to be added in the future, they will be dedicated annually on National Police Remembrance Day - 29 September.
The undulating and changing nature of the stone-paved apron leading down to the wall creates an uncertain terrain and this, along with the random layout of the touchstones, reflects the unpredictable path that police tread in the daily performance of their duties. Engraved into the apron are a number of relevant quotes from official police records and from the loved ones of those who died.
At the rear of the wall, at the memorial’s southern (lake side) end, there is an image of Saint Michael the Archangel, the Patron Saint of Police (Saint Michael is recognized by the Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths). At night both the dedicated touchstones and the image are lit.
Also behind the wall there are nine flagpoles from which fly the Australian National Flag and the flags of the eight Australian police jurisdictions in an order of precedence according to their officially recognized foundation dates. The police jurisdictional order of precedence, as seen by the observer, is South Australia (1838), Victoria (18 January 1853), Western Australia (1853), New South Wales (1862), Queensland (1864), Northern Territory (1870), Tasmania (1898) and the Australian Federal Police (1979).
Photo gallery
An online photo gallery has been established to host a selection of high quality photos from the NPM Dedication Ceremony.
AFP Police Memorial
On 28 September 2001, the AFP Police Memorial was Dedicated at the AFP College in Barton, ACT. It honours those AFP officers who have fallen in the line of duty.
Information archives
For information regarding past NPM fact sheets, NPM Newsletters and lead-up events, visit the NPM information archives.