A Werribee-based detective’s relentless pursuit of a sex offender has been honoured with a statewide award.
Detective Acting Sergeant Lucas Dudley recently received the 2025 Crime Stoppers Victoria SI Mick Miller Award.
The award is presented to a member of Victoria Police who has made an outstanding contribution to the Victorian Crime Stoppers program.
Following Mr Dudley’s actions, the offender received a five-year jail term and was added to the sex offenders register.
Detective Acting Sergeant Dudley said he was honoured to be recognised and that the perpetrator was a little harder to find due to there being no previous record of offences.
“I feel honoured in terms of the recognition by Crime Stoppers who continue to be such a good partner with Victoria Police,” he said.
“There were a number of victims involved in this investigation so it was really satisfying to get a quick and substantial result particularly given the circumstances – he was unknown to police.”
He also said that Crime Stoppers, an independent non-profit organisation that allows the public to report information about crimes and suspicious activity anonymously, was a vital part of catching the offender.
“This particular offender was quite cunning and intelligent – but no match for the power of a Crime Stoppers report,” Detective Acting Sergeant Dudley said.
“Having that trust with Crime Stoppers and Victoria Police we were able to get a really strong outcome.”
The late Mick Miller, a former Victoria Police chief commissioner, was a staunch supporter of Crime Stoppers and remained an advocate for the organisation throughout his lifetime.
