Bay of Plenty's own Senior Constable Michael Chelley is one of 15 police staff awarded fellowships from the Woolf Fisher Trust.

At a special event held at the Royal New Zealand Police College on Monday afternoon, police staff were awarded the fellowships in recognition of their ongoing dedication and outstanding contributions to New Zealand Police.

The fellowship means Michael will have the opportunity to travel and study overseas.

'These Woolf Fisher Police Fellowships showcase the breadth of excellence within our organisation and highlight the outstanding contributions our staff make to ensure people feel safe and are safe,” says Commissioner of Police Mike Bush.

'I'm thrilled to see this year's recipients from all corners of the country and a variety of disciplines within police – both constabulary and non-constabulary.

'While each fellow is recognised for something different, what they all have in common is their commitment to police and, by extension, the communities they serve.”

The 2020 fellows celebrated their honour with Commissioner Bush, family members and police colleagues, as well as Sir Noel Robinson, chairman of the Woolf Fisher Trust.

'The thing that gets me is the diversity among the recipients,” says Noel.

'Everyone has quite a different story and they all lead to making New Zealand a safer place.

'I think this is a very good partnership which will go on for many years.”

Each fellow was nominated by their police peers and will receive funding to travel abroad for up to six or eight weeks. The trip includes time to holiday and undertake a pre-agreed programme of study, and has provisions for a partner to accompany.

The Woolf Fisher Trust established the Police Fellowship programme in 2017 and has awarded 45 fellowships to date.

Previous fellows have used the funding to embark on a range of opportunities, including learning from international jurisdictions about family harm prevention, school lockdown procedures, wellbeing for first responders, crisis negotiation and indigenous communities to name a few.