QPS promotes Torres Strait policing
Queensland Police have the focused on the Torres Strait with the aim of attracting new police personnel to the far north region.
According to the Officer in Charge of the Thursday Island Criminal Investigation Branch, Detective Acting Sergeant Katie Overson, the Torres Strait conditions are different from any you can possibly experience elsewhere in Queensland.
“People don’t have any concept of how different policing is until you get up here,” Detective Acting Sergeant Overson (pictured) said.
“We cover 15 islands as well as the tip of the mainland, so that means a lot of travelling. You also need to be patient with getting to places. It can take a large portion of your day just to do simple jobs.”
Detective Acting Sergeant Overson is currently enjoying her second posting to the Torres Strait, having previously spent three years based at Thursday Island from 2011 to 2014.
The Thursday Island Police Station accommodates 21 general duties police, eight plain clothes officers, an intelligence officer, a Scenes of Crime Officer, a police prosecutor and five Water Police.
In addition to sworn officers, Torres Strait Islander Police Liaison Officers are stationed within their communities on the individual islands.
For people thinking about becoming a police officer, Detective Acting Sergeant Overson said the opportunity to change location or career direction without having to leave your job was a compelling reason to join the Queensland Police Service (QPS).
“A lot of people don’t stay in the one career anymore. That’s the most interesting thing when you join the Police Academy — there are people who have been on huge money and people who have had amazing careers and they’ve just decided this is something they’ve always wanted to do,” she said.
“You meet lots of people in all different walks of life, and they’ve made it so you really can try and get through the application process at any age now.”
The QPS is looking for applicants who seek purpose, direction and meaning from their careers in a different way from what they have before.
Further information about the police recruiting can be accessed at this PS News link.
