Police have, to varying degrees, been involved in all of these and in the Riverina, their "public face" is usually Superintendent Bob Noble, who says 2020 - which began on a heartbreaking note with the January bushfires - has been an extraordinary year so far.

"The extent, and the operational footprint, and the length of time around the bushfires, particularly in the Dunns Road up in the Snowy Valleys was something else. It was a bigger than a normal operation, and not too many people that were in that EOC, including myself, will have been in a bigger, longer emergency management operation than that, and might never be again," he said.

"So, we had that, and then yes, we've come into the COVID-19 event, and police have very much been on the front line - with their friends at Health - of trying to keep the community safe. It's really interesting.

"I never thought ever, as a police officer, my colleagues and I would be going out, stopping people from going on holidays, or telling people that they can't gather in groups of more than two people, as it was for a while."

Superintendent Noble, a dad of three who grew up at Narrabri, also felt the personal impact of the lockdowns, with his father dying at the height of the restrictions.

"I couldn't visit Dad during the last weeks of his life, as a result of what was going on, to protect the people in the facility he was in. And the funeral was obviously very limited. Only nine of us could get into the chapel," he said.

"It just goes to show, I suppose, how malleable the expectations of the community are. And when situations get difficult, it was good to have the support of the community in doing that, because it wasn't something that, probably any of us, who joined the police force saw as something that we'd ever be doing.

"Having said that, I think the role that police play during the trajectory of this event, which is still far from over, probably has given rise to some frustration that might be some of what's at play with this most recent stuff."

Superintendent Noble is referring to the widespread rioting and protests that followed the murder of African-American man George Floyd by a police officer in the United States.

A Black Lives Matter rally was held in Wagga, with Superintendent Noble positive about the way the event was organised.

"I think it's a complex and layered issue. It's not just as simple as George Floyd or Rodney King. I think a very, very powerful component is frustration with the COVID event. And while people were happy to see us enforcing social distancing, non gathering, non travelling, I can't help but think deep down in some quarters, there's just a little bit of resentment that's built up there, and it's bubbling out through the size of this issue." he said.

"I've been heavily involved in the corporate space, in indigenous policing issues, in various portfolios that I've held. And so, I know, from my membership on various steering committees and programs, that there is a consistent approach to discretion and compassion, and also applying the rule of law as is reasonable in policing Aboriginal communities. But I'm not feeling in the public discourse that that's appreciated."

Superintendent Noble, whose policing experiences have taken him from inner Sydney to Walgett and to the coast, says he "can honestly say that I've never seen a single instance in the nearly seven years over in the community here, of anyone doing anything that was associated even remotely with racism".

"I think as a result, we have a very good relationship with, not just our Aboriginal, but our other marginalised communities, migrant communities, and so on. And I think the people of Wagga and the broader Riverina should be very proud of their police, and celebrate them, because they do turn up honestly, and continue to do it, even though sometimes it's not a pleasant job, because they know they're making a difference," he said.

"I have seen some fantastic Aboriginal policing initiatives. I've seen police of all ranks very dedicated to looking after those marginalised communities, those Aboriginal communities that struggle, that do apply, well, yes, the rule of law, but also discretion, and reasonableness, and compassion to their decision making and their actions when dealing with Aboriginal people. And I've seen that consistently over a long period of time."

.