Recipient of the Australian Police Medal in 2005 for highly distinguished and dedicated service, Superintendent Jennifer Hurst stays icy cool through the crisis of a big investigation.
'I want to make sure we do the job absolutely right,' says the Coordinator of Joint Counterterrorism Teams in the Australian Federal Police’s busy Sydney office. 'it’s important to be in control of an investigation. My mainspring is making sure that whatever we work on is successful.'
The first prosecutions of suspects under Australia’s new anti-terrorism laws are evidence of her team’s hard work in recent years, but they mask the enormous task of co-ordinating, harnessing and helping all the different Federal and State agencies involved in protecting Australia from global terrorism.
The counter-terrorism assignment is the latest in Jenny’s highly distinguished 20-year frontline career with the AFP which included co-ordinating its ‘Avian’ Drug Strike Team in Sydney. This succeeded in smashing a number of major narcotics syndicates – ‘top end of town targets’, as she puts it. She also had a stint with the National Crime Authority, investigating Asian crime gangs and money laundering.
'I’m self-motivated, but I also draw a lot of inspiration from the people around me,' she says.
Jenny also devotes time to mentoring young police officers, explaining the wonderful national and international opportunities a modern policing career now offers.