Community-minded local cop honoured

North Melbourne-based Nektarios "Nick" Parissis, who has spent almost his entire career in the inner north, was recognised for his commitment to community causes with an Australian Police Medal on Australia Day.

Acting Sergeant Parissis remembers being described at parent/teacher nights as a kid who was “quite hyperactive and wanting to always be talking to people”.

Thirty-six years after starting in the police force as an 18-year-old he is still enjoying “being out speaking to people and helping them with their problems”.

One of the helping roles he has been recognised with an Australian Police Medal for is coordinating the Victoria Police Christmas Toy and Food Drive for the past 14 years.

“It’s great to be able to support the kids at Ronald McDonald House but also to support their parents,” the acting sergeant told North West City News.

“We will come down, bring some police cars and motorbikes, do a big drop-off and speak to them for a while, give them a bit of an outlet to speak to someone other than doctors.”

As part of the drive, they also support the Venny community backyard in Kensington, who “do a lot of breakfasts and support for people on the Kensington housing estate who are doing it tough”.

The veteran officer has also been singled out for his commitment to building relationships in the community.

In Carlton from the 2000s he helped run more than 60 police and youth camps, taking groups of kids, many of them from the local housing estates, away to central Victoria for the weekend.

Despite an initial wariness from local families, the officers ended up with “more kids wanting to come than we could actually take,” he said.

Last year one of the participants from 20 years ago stopped him in the street to say hello and introduce his own child.

Outside of community work, there have been plenty of other interesting engagements.

“I was at Carlton in the 1990s when we had all the Underbelly stuff going on and we used to come across quite a few of those colourful characters,” the acting sergeant says.

We had a staff Christmas party one year upstairs at a restaurant in Lygon St and downstairs were half the cast of Underbelly – the real Underbelly guys.

“They were doing their own thing and we were doing ours.”

He also had the rare privilege of being paid to go to the footy.

“I’m a Carlton supporter and I was lucky enough to work 70- or 80-odd games at Princes Park where we’d be on the field escorting umpires on and off, so I’d have the best seat in the house,” he said.

“I haven’t seen a Grand Final win in 30 years but I’m hoping.”

In his career of close to 40 years, Acting Sergeant Parissis observes, he has seen “some amazing things”, including his life flash before his eyes when he had a gun pointed at him.

“You see some great sights, and you see some pretty ordinary sights,” he said.

“You have some amazing days, and you meet some amazing people both in and outside the force.”

According to the 54-year-old, one of the best things about receiving this year’s Australian Police Award has been reading the letters written by colleagues and community groups in support of his nomination.

“They were wonderful – really nice words,” he said.

“It was humbling to see they had taken the time out to write them.”

Acting Sergeant Parissis, who is based at the Melbourne North Police Station, will be officially presented with the medal at a ceremony at Government House in May. •