BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) –  Everybody needs a pat on the back from the boss every now and then, and Bakersfield Police Chief Greg Terry and his top lieutenants were happy to take 30 minutes out of their day to oblige on Thursday morning. The 2024 annual Employee Awards Ceremony, held at BPD headquarters, was their chance to bestow some love on the men and women in blue, and assorted other colors. The civilian employee of the year was digital forensic examiner Mick Street, who isn’t just a star around the office, but among peers around the nation, recognized as one of the best when it comes to stopping cyber crime. Graham Payne was named dispatcher of the year; Reagan Selman was officer of the year; Philip Richardi was detective of the year, and Jamie Polm, who oversees the police properties and facilities department,  was one of two supervisors of the year.  Golden Empire Most Wanted: December 19, 2024 The other, Sgt. John Bishop, supervises officer training – which is always a challenge, and ever more so in this day and age. “It’s definitely a balance that we have to work out in how we train our officers,” Bishop said. “I’m assigned to our training division. That’s over the defensive tactics team and part of what we do, and not just me, it’s really the team that I have, that we’ve put together, that has gotten us all the progress that we’ve made so far in this last year in the (California Department of Justice’s) stipulated judgement (directed at BPD).  Bishop emphasized the importance of proper training in the police department. “Teaching the officers from the ground level, from the time we get them in the academy, all the way through the importance of being fair and unbiased in how they use force," said Bishop. "How to recognize threats, and also how to use it in the most efficient ways as possible so that they can effect an arrest, overcome some resistance, and lawfully do the things they’re supposed to do in the line of duty.”