Senior Sergeant Les Nugent reached half a century of service in September last year, but COVID restrictions denied him a ceremony.

He'd hinted retirement wasn't far away after the milestone and was sent out in style as colleagues, family and friends gathered outside Albury police station to form a guard of honour as walked out the doors in uniform for the last time.

Senior Sergeant Nugent spent half of his career in Albury after he moved to the Border in 1996 following stints in Sydney, Gundagai, Tamworth and Goulburn and prided himself on the relationships he built within the Indigenous community.

"I was blown away by the response from police and the community, especially the Aboriginal community. It was excellent," he said.

"I've been fortunate to come out of the force with a really good head and it was an excellent send-off on Friday.

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"I don't think anyone, including the previous commissioners, could have gone out in a better way with the community. That's a testament to Albury itself."

Senior Sergeant Nugent said the station was in excellent hands.

"There's a great crew of young police officers there now who are learning the profession and the older mob is there to show them the way," he said.

"The management team with Paul Smith, Mick Stoltenberg and Scott Russell is leading the way.

"We've got five Indigenous officers at the station and it gives a balance of community and culture."

Valda Murray became a close friend of Senior Sergeant Nugent when he was appointed Aboriginal liaison officer at the Albury station.

"Even though he changed his role a number of times, we knew we'd already made that connection and contact," she said.

"He came to many different meetings and stood up to say if he could help in any way that he was there.

"If you also had trouble with any of the police and you wanted to talk to him, he was there to help.

"I know I'm going to miss him greatly. Les wasn't just a policeman, he was our friend."

Senior Sergeant Nugent's service will officially end in October, 2023, once he has cleared his long service leave, but he wants to remain involved in the community.

"We ran a youth arts program at MAMA which finished a few weeks ago and I want to do at least one project a year," he said.

"It's hopefully running again and (my partner) Louise and I will work something else in with the community."

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