Police officers killed in the line of duty, including four from the Bay of Plenty, are being remembered today.

The annual Police Remembrance Day service takes place every September 29, and this year includes the names of 38 employees who have died as a result of their duties since the New Zealand Police was established in 1886.

The four police officers killed in the line of duty in the Bay of Plenty. Photo: Supplied.

Among those was Tauranga Sergeant Gilbert Peter Arcus, who died in 1970.

Gilbert was assaulted as he tried to calm a mentally disturbed woman. He fell to the floor fracturing the base of his skull.

The woman was charged with manslaughter but was later declared insane.

In 1986 traffic officer Robin James Dudding was taken hostage and shot by an 18-year-old man at Lake Rotoiti.

Armed police located Robin's body in his patrol vehicle near Hamurana.

The 18-year-old was found not guilty of his murder and the attempted murder of a second officer due to insanity. Robin was posthumously awarded the George Medal for bravery.

Another Bay of Plenty traffic officer, John Kehoe, was shot several times following a pursuit of a motorcyclist in Whakatane in 1949.

The man responsible was found dead in an orchard around a week later, having shot himself.

The last police death in the district was that of Constable Lester Murray Stretch.

Lester was beaten to death in Mangakino in 1999. He had attended reports of a burglary at a local store and chased Carlos Namana from the building.

He caught up with Carlos but was overpowered and suffered extensive head injuries. Carlos was arrested the following day and later pleaded guilty to murder, receiving life imprisonment.

The 29 officers killed on duty since 1886 appear on a memorial wall at the Royal New Zealand Police College.

'It's been our wish for some time to also formally remember other employees who died as a direct result of their police duties,” says Commissioner Mike Bush.

'We needed to find a way to honour those who lost their lives in crashes, accidents, explosions, by drowning or from illnesses contracted while carrying out their duties.

'Their contribution is part of our history and they need to be formally recognised.”

In 2013, police established the Recognition Project to set some criteria and correctly identify eligible employees. 'Police has employed many thousands of people in our 129-year history,” says Mike.

'Identifying those who died as a result of their duties was a big task and despite our best efforts, there may be people who have been inadvertently missed or whose families believe should be included but aren't on the current list.

'The Remembrance Day recognition is the first step in a continuing process.

'We're very willing to consider further information that becomes available and include anyone who meets the criteria.”