Mother-daughter duo as Police Liaison Officers serve Yarrabah

Happy Mother's Day to all the mums in the Queensland Police Service (QPS)!

We'd like to give a special shout out to Senior Police Liaison Officer (SPLO) Gaylene Patterson, pictured above with her daughter Police Liaison Officer Vedette Patterson and Assistant Commissioner Far Northern Region Brett Schafferius.

Both women live and work in their community in Yarrabah, with Gaylene based at the Yarrabah Police Station and Vedette based at the Yarrabah PCYC.

Gaylene joined the QPS in February 2002, and said she had been inspired to help her community by her uncle.

"I always wanted to join the QPS simply because my uncle was a Community Police Officer," Gaylene said.

"He inspired me to apply for a position as a Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Police (QATSIP) officer in 2002.

"I was then transferred permanently to a Police Liaison Officer position in July 2012, and I've been here ever since."

Vedette said she in turn had been inspired to join the QPS by her mum Gaylene.

"From a very young age, I grew up seeing my mum in uniform and I've always dreamed of one day joining the QPS," Vedette said.

"The PCYC Club Manager Sergeant Andrew Guest encouraged me to apply for the Police Liaison Officer position, and I got it.

"I started with the QPS in mid-February 2022 and one day I hope to further my career in policing."

Although based in different buildings, Gaylene said she and her daughter saw plenty of each other on the job.

"We work alongside each other a lot, through liaising with locals, visiting the school, and taking part in women's group and community events.

"We both love working for the QPS. We enjoy every moment of our daily work, and are proud of our role and responsibilities that we do in community for community," Gaylene said.