A day in the life of a recruit

A day in the life of a recruit

Trainee Constable Ebony Foster

Left to Right: Ebony Foster, Holly Thorp, Rachael Fitzsimmons

This week has been an exciting week at the academy, we have passed the halfway mark in our course and everyone is getting very excited to see what the next stage of training brings us.

This week we completed driving and firearms training where we all had lots of fun learning these important skills that contribute to our new career.

I can remember wanting to be a police officer back when I was in high school, I would often see the police patrolling in my home town in Devonport and thinking how cool it would be to have a job that helps others and has so much variety.

When I completed high school, Tasmania Police were not recruiting so it gave me a good opportunity to work and travel for a couple of years, which helped me mature and gain some life experience.

After returning from overseas last year it was my mum who saw an advertisement that Tasmania Police were recruiting and advised me to apply. I remember arriving for my physical testing day feeling nervous and excited. From the moment I entered the foyer area of the academy and saw the photographs of the Commissioners (past and present), I realised Tasmania Police was an organisation I really wanted to be a part of.

Over the next six months as the application process continued so did my eagerness and when I finally got the call to say I had been accepted into the academy, I was thrilled.

Since joining the academy I have experienced so many challenges which have helped me grow as a person. To describe the training at the academy would be difficult, as every day is challenging and every situation is different much like police work. The instructors are very knowledgeable and use their own policing experiences to help teach us skills that we will use for many years to come.

At times living at the academy can be challenging, we start most days at 5:30am with PT which as the mornings get colder and darker can be difficult but it is still exciting to see how far we have come since joining.

During the day we can have up to four or five classes and when classes are done for the day many of us spend an extra couple of hours studying, whether it is for upcoming exams, assignments or just some additional study. There is quite a lot more academic study than what I thought there would be, especially as I have never done any university study before but the instructors and staff are so helpful and make the whole process a lot less stressful.

Many of us live away from our friends and families which is very difficult as academy life can be quite demanding at times. However the support we have from each other and the friendships we have made, at times it is like having 19 brothers and sisters.

Anyone who is looking at applying for Tasmania Police I encourage you too especially if you are after a job that no two days are the same, where everyone is like a family and you want a rewarding and challenging career where you will grow as a person every day.

TRAINEE EBONY FOSTER T7

Trainee Constable Kerri-Anne Talbot

Left to right: Kerrie-Anne Talbot, Sean Dougan

It’s been said that the police force is like a family and this is perhaps the best description we have ever heard from  Recruit Constable… Within the first week of joining the Police Academy our course members were all friends, but now it is more like a re-make of ‘Yours, Mine & Ours’ with a hodgepodge of 19 new siblings from a variety of backgrounds and our course directors being affectionately dubbed ‘Mum and Dad’ to boot.

I would like to say that from early childhood all I wanted to do was become a police officer, but that is simply not the case.  It is true however, that I have always wanted to be in a position to make a difference in a person’s life.  For myself that went from: dreams of becoming a veterinarian because looking after those in your family who have no voice seemed so important; to the aspirations of becoming an art teacher, following in the footsteps of those in my own academic life who had shaped me the most; to a segue into finance and a position in Deceased Estates that I can honestly say that while not by any means an enjoyable position, it was by far the most rewarding time of my life.
So by this time I had turned 30 I had the sudden realisation that I still didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up…  A scary thought I must admit.

As I looked back on my life so far I realised that nothing had really changed in my mind about the essence of the role I would like, I just had to find an outlet, and Tasmania Police has become that outlet for me.   As a child ‘Police’ were the people you call when you were lost or hurt or the ones that show up to community events to help sick children have one amazing day in a sea of awful experiences.  I realised that I wanted to be a part of that.
Making the leap and going into the recruiting process was one of the biggest leaps of faith that I have ever had, but I don’t regret a minute of it.

The transparency of the entire recruitment process is amazing and as such I won’t ‘sugar coat’ the experiences I have had.  In short life as a recruit is exactly as you would expect it to be… and so much more.  Yes, there are very early wake ups with us starting our day on average at 5.20am to be ready for Personal Training every day before breakfast and then we work right through until about 4.30 on classes revolving around different aspect of Law, Community and Operational Skills.  As there is now a university component to the whole process there is also a great deal of after-hours study involved with essays, assignments and group projects.  However, even after all of those things I still enjoy every day that I am here.

The biggest shock about becoming a recruit was the almost immediate sense of family that you feel.  Within the first week we were all friends, but now it is more like a re-make of ‘Yours, Mine & Ours’ with a hodgepodge of 19 new siblings from a variety of backgrounds and our course directors being affectionately dubbed ‘Mum and Dad’ to boot.  And just like a family, while we bicker and pester each other constantly, we have become fiercely protective of each other as well.   I can honestly say that the friends/family that I am acquiring in my time at the academy will follow me throughout the rest of my life.

So if you are looking for a new career, a new challenge or if you simply have the desire to break your own mould and become who you are supposed to be then please apply, because otherwise you will never know what you are missing.

Trainee Constable Kerri-Anne Talbot

Recruit #17 of Course 3/2016

Trainee Constable Loretta Lincoln

1/2016 Recruits

This week we are stepping into week 27 of 31 in our training phase and counting down the days until Graduation.

Life as a recruit has been an enjoyable experience so far! It is highly demanding and requires 110% effort every day. The course is quite extensive and covers a diverse range of subjects to prepare us for our role as police officers. Each day presents us with a new challenge which we face together, as a team. We have made valued friendships that we will treasure for years to come.

I personally have found the course to be stimulating, challenging and also very rewarding. The presenters are so helpful and provide us with their extensive knowledge and first hand experiences to learn from. Each day I learn something new and important!

The course however has stretched us in more ways than one. We spend a lot of time away from our homes and loved ones and this can be testing. Some days it is a struggle to get up when the alarm sounds at 5.20am but the end goal is in sight and that makes it worth it. Thankfully, we have each other – an awesome support network of good mates.

I am so excited to think that each of us will have the opportunity to make a difference within our local Tassie communities, every day.

Looking forward to seeing you out and about when we are working the beat!

Cheers, Loretta (Trainee Constable 16 of Recruit Course 1/2016)