Towards the end of his nearly seven years on the run from the law, Naden shot a Tactical Operations Unit officer in remote NSW bushland as the police web closed in on him.

The round didn't kill the senior constable, but the incident showed Albury-region officers Detective Senior Constable Scott Barton and Senior Constable Steven Thorpe the need to be on extreme alert. 

The pair, who received citations for their work at a ceremony on Thursday, were part of the group that took Naden into custody.

“We ended up catching him just out of Gloucester,” Senior Constable Thorpe said.

“Obviously we were fairly wary and cautious of the situation – he’d already fired a shot at an officer prior to that, causing an injury to him.

“We had a fairly heightened sense of alertness and awareness that night, just to make sure everything was done in a safe manner.”

Naden had been roaming through NSW bushland after strangling Kristy Scholes to death in June 2005, and often survived by breaking into farmhouses and stealing food. 

He was a suspect in the death of Lateesha Nolan five months earlier. 

Police resources from across the state, including the two Albury-region members, were brought in to try to track him down as part of Strike Force Durkin. 

Acting Deputy Commissioner Frank Mennilli said the officers had worked in “extremely uncomfortable” conditions in dense bushland with snakes and leeches. 

“It was a credit to everyone involved in the operation that the offender was arrested eventually and no-one was injured,” he said. 

Thursday's awards also recognised officers Michael Jones, Craig Middleton and Les Crofts for work that prevented 30 kilograms of heroin entering the country. 

Citizens Allan Steeden and Fiona Grainger were recognised for assisting passengers after a fatal car crash on the Hume Highway in July 2015. 

Others were recognised for their work forcing an outlaw motorcycle gang out of Deniliquin, for investigations in the Albury Drug Unit that caught multiple offenders and for long service.