From the very first day that Neekita started with FIRST Security she has shown professionalism and commitment to the Electronic Monitoring Services team, which is a nation-wide mobile patrol team specifically trained and deployed to respond to alerts triggered by monitoring devices worn by people (wearers) serving non-custodial sentences, bail, and orders in the corrections system. She carries out her duties with great care and respect for the wearer, and this, coupled with her willingness to help others, saw her promoted to “Team Leader” within two months of starting. Whilst the nomination for Neekita talks glowingly of her high standards, professionalism and capabilities, the judges paid particular reference to an incident that occurred approximately 8.30pm Saturday 13 May 2023 when Neekita demonstrated true courage when she went to the aid of a member of the public who was being assaulted by her partner whilst driving a vehicle. As Neekita exited the Southern Motorway she heard a persistent horn. She didn’t think too much about it initially but when she pulled up alongside the vehicle in question, the female driver was screaming for help. Behing her sat a male, who was punching the back of the headrest. Neekita wound down the passenger window and asked the woman to pull over, but she responded that she couldn’t as the assailant would not allow it. Also, in the car was a teenage girl in the front passenger seat and a baby (in a capsule) in the backseat. Neekita told the woman, who was clearly being injured by the assault to keep driving and she would follow.   Neekita called 111 to request emergency services and stayed on the call whilst she followed the victim’s vehicle. At the next set of traffic lights, the assailant in the back seat jumped out of the vehicle and ran away. At this time Neekita gestured to the woman to proceed through the lights and pull over and from there took her first aid kit from her vehicle and administered first aid to the woman, who was bleeding and bruised, and to the teenager and baby who also had extensive bruising, whilst waiting for the ambulance to arrive. At this stage, the assailant returned, grabbed the woman and bashed her head into the bonnet of the car. Neekita intervened, positioning herself between the assailant and the woman. The assailant then attacked Neekita, including presenting a knife and threatening to kill her along with the three victims. Neekita instructed the victims to keep back and away from the knife wielding assailant whilst she continued to shield them. On hearing the sound of the ambulance getting closer, the assailant fled on foot again with Neekita observing the direction he travelled so she could relay the information to the police. Once the ambulance arrived and officers were attending to the victims, Neekita returned to her patrol vehicle and followed the assailant who she quickly found hiding in an alleyway. On being threatened by the assailant who had approached her vehicle, Neekita unlocked and opened her door with force into the assailant who lost his footing and fell back onto the road. She then reversed and parked her vehicle and proceeded to illuminate the assailant with her heavy-duty torch until police arrived and arrested him. Once the assailant was in police custody, Neekita drove back to the ambulance to check on the victims and where ambulance staff also checked her for any injuries. A very, very worthy recipient for our Security Professional of the Year.