Illawarra residents have been urged to "whinge" less and appreciate the good work of the NSW Police Force.Uniting Church minister and police chaplain Reverend Gordon Bradbery told yesterday's Police Remembrance Day service that people "whinged" too much about peripheral concerns when they should be thankful for the things that were really important.Assistant Commissioner Robert May, Wollongong Police Commander Wayne Dedden and Lake Illawarra Commander Mick Plotecki were among those who attended the service at Wollongong's Wesley Church on the Mall.Shirlena Gallagher, wife of Senior Constable Bruce Gallagher who died of a heart attack on April 17, also attended the 20th annual national day of remembering.Another Illawarra officer to lose her life in the past 12 months was Constable Elise Krejci, who was killed in a car accident on Picton Rd, three days after Snr Const Gallagher's death.Back from a visit to Third World countries in South America, Rev Bradbery told the service that he had witnessed terrible scenes that made him appreciate living in Australia."What a great country we live in, what a land of opportunity," Rev Bradbery said. "But suddenly I am aware that on occasions like this, when we gather to remember the safety and security that we have in our community, how it has come at a cost."I am conscious of the fact there are men and women who have lost their lives in the interests of policing this state - what it is when we don't have to live in a land where our police wear flak jackets and carry machine guns."He said that in appreciating these blessings, the community must also acknowledge they had come at a cost, sometimes in police lives."They have gone beyond, they have given not only of themselves, but ultimately their breath and their pulse."