Supt Smith, who joined the NSW Police Force in 1987, took command of the region, which includes Moama and Mathoura, on Monday, January 20.
He is no stranger to region, starting his policing career in Albury 32 years ago.
“I have friends and family across the district and in some respects consider this move as returning home,” Supt Smith said.
“I look forward to police, community and government working together for safer communities across the Murray River PD.”
His career in Albury general duties flowed downstream on the Murray to Mulwala and then Dareton, before moving into criminal investigations in Hay and Deniliquin.
In 2004, Supt Smith was promoted to Inspector at Broken Hill, before taking on the crime manager role at Barrier Local Area Command.
After transferring to Griffith in 2009, managing crime along the Murrumbidgee for six years, he was involved in numerous organised crime investigations, including the disruption of the drug trade and seizure of several large commercial cannabis crops, some hidden among the vineyards.
In 2005, Supt Smith was appointed Commander of the Barrier LAC, which later merged to become Barrier Police District.
There, he was exposed to cross-border policing across Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.
“During my time there I found cross-border policing arrangements critical to our capability, developing close working relations with our neighbouring interstate commands,” he said.
“By working with the vision of ‘no borders’, we made some major achievements in emergency management, road safety, interstate drug trafficking and general community safety.”
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