Senior constable Carlton Kopke was the winner of the Irene Juergens (IJ) Fellowship award for his outstanding contributions to community-based policing, at the 2021 NSW Rotary Police Officer of the Year Awards.

The awards evening, held on April 29 at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney, recognises the outstanding work of individual police officers, support personnel and volunteers.

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"Police across so many areas, and you see it more in country areas, do a massive effort and do many hours outside of our working hours and we don't get recognition very often," senior constable Kopke told the Daily Liberal.

"Its not within our culture to have people give you pats on the back."

Since 2013 senior constable Kopke has gone above and beyond his policing duties to support and engage in the local community.

Some of his outstanding individual contributions include conducting youth driver education programs in Mendooran and Binnaway, reforming the local Volunteer Rescue Association and the Men's Shed.

During the drought he also helped distribute 86,000 litres of bottled water to people in Mendooran, Neilrex, Merrygoen and surrounds when they were at level six water restrictions.

On top of this, he has also established a police vs youth vs teachers touch football day to help build rapport within the community, and once a fortnight reads to the kindergarten and year one students at the local school.

He's also helped coordinate a charity cricket games for the McGrath Foundation raising over $10,000 for breast care nurses, as well as helping fundraise to purchase an oxygen concentrator for a community member and a 24-hour accessible defibrillator unit for the community.

One year he also coordinated a clothing and furniture drive for a family affected by a house fire in Baradine.

Originally from Wollongong, senior constable Kopke began his career in the Sutherland Shire police command at the age of 19.

He spent 10 years in the south of Sydney before making his way out to Mendooran, where he's been for the last nine-and-a-half years.

"Country policing is very different to city policing. Country policing is better," he said.

"I certainly think you get to play more of a role in your community and get to have a more active role and make a difference.

"It sounds corny, but so many cops join to make a difference in peoples lives and in the country you get to see that difference that you make."

Out of all his achievements, senior constable Kopke said it was the youth group he established in Mendooran which he is most proud of.

He said it was rewarding to see young kids who had joined the group, grow up with a healthy respect and rapport with police.

"We always talk about the youth of today aren't as respectful or polite as they used to be," he said.

"I think everyone's been saying that for the last 100 years, but I think we can make that generational change," he said.

"Those generations of people who may not have seen police as people who can help, we can make sure the next generation can have that positive relationship and rapport with the cops."

The award was named after Irene Juergens, better known as 'IJ', who was the first female sergeant in the NSW Police Force to receive the APM and the first woman to receive the NSW Police Medal.

She served for almost 44 years until her retirement in 2009 at the age of 63 - leaving as the first longest serving female of the NSW Police Force.

The IJ Fellowship Award was presented in recognition of outstanding individual contributions to community-based policing by sworn and unsworn officers.

Senior constable Kopke's message to aspiring police officers is to "make a difference" in the community.

"At the end of the day that's why we all join," he said.

"It sounds so cliché and silly, but we don't join for the high-speed pursuits or pulling drunk people out of the pubs, we join because police are generally good people, and good people are the ones who make a difference.

"So I think if you really want to get out there and make a difference you can and we're in a unique position where our employment gives us that authority and that position to make a difference and a positive role in peoples lives."