Today is a special day for the 12 police officers of Course 54 who will graduate at the South Australia Police (SAPOL) Academy.
Those graduating range in age from 23 to 35 and come from diverse employment backgrounds including seven members who were Protective Security Officers and others who worked in disability support, government, sport, dentistry and warehousing.
They will be posted to a number of areas, including four members going to Whyalla and Port Augusta.
One of the graduating members is Bonnie, a keen lacrosse player who has represented Australia and played for Denver University in the United States.
Having played sport her whole life, Bonnie was attracted to working within a team environment. Although she found the application process daunting, she said the extensive process was easy enough to follow, finding the panel interview different to other job interviews she had experienced.
"It's best to take your time with the application and be prepared for the steps along the way," Bonnie said.
Bonnie was apprehensive about returning to classroom study and balancing that with other commitments, but found help from course mentors.
"The Academy provides an environment and systems to support all aspects of Academy life. It can be challenging at times, however the mentors were an amazing support for me and go above and beyond to help you succeed."
Bonnie was surprised at the amount of legislation cadets are taught, however after completing the out phase (on the job experience), Bonnie could see how that knowledge is essential to the role.
Bonnie's most memorable experience was the operational safety training where she learnt self-defence techniques and incident management and was able to apply those skills in scenario-based training that simulated the operational policing environment.
She is being posted to Western District and hopes to one day join the Dog Operations Unit.
Another graduate from today is Lauren who worked as a bar manager for six years and a carer for people with disabilities prior to joining SAPOL.
She was attracted to the different career pathways within SAPOL and working to support the community. Lauren was always certain a career in policing was for her, it took her three application attempts before she was successful but she never let the rejection deter her.
The Academy experience has helped Lauren develop her skills in problem solving, time management, leadership and confidence.
"The Academy pushes you to develop and I saw that throughout this experience, not only did my confidence grow but I also overcame the fear of standing out in front of a crowd," said Lauren.
Lauren is being posted to Whyalla where she is looking forward to living out her dream career. She eventually aspires to become a detective in the Criminal Investigations Branch.
SAPOL is currently recruiting and is keen to hear from people from all walks of life. To make the application process easier, SAPOL has implemented a range of initiatives – including the transition to an online application process and covering the cost of the SAPOL TAFE recruitment test (for a limited time only).
If you're looking for job security, career progression pathways and a chance to make a real difference in local communities please visit https://www.police.sa.gov.au/join-us
(1st photo L-R Lauren and Bonnie, 2nd photo L-R Bonnie and Lauren )
