After the pass out parade on Friday, Oxley Command yesterday collected 26-year-old Probationary Constable Joshua Naughtin, while Barwon welcomed one new officer to the station.

And they weren’t the only ones pulling on the blue uniforms, with the Oxley Command also welcoming three new police officers to the Tamworth Station – all constables from as far afield as Bathurst, Parkes and Orange.

For Probationary Constable Naughtin, the posting is a dream come true.

“It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid, so yeah, it’s fulfilling a dream,” he said yesterday when The Leader caught up with him on his first day on the job.

“I’ve always wanted to do it.”

The probationary constable, who has already completed his bachelor of criminology, conceded the academy was tough but he “got through it” ahead of last week’s attestation ceremony in front of Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione.

“Yeah it was good; it was fun, exciting,” he said of the ceremony.

It caps off 12 months of study and time in Goulburn at the academy, but he won’t be putting the books down just yet.

The 170 new officers of “Class 322” have to complete 12 months of on-the-job training and study by distance education before they officially graduate with an associate degree in police practice. 

From there, the new police are promoted to the rank of constable.

But, for now, he’ll head straight on the truck as he’s teamed up with two other officers to tackle the callouts across Tamworth.

And it’s not daunting, rather Probationary Constable Naughtin said his new home away from Sydney was the pick of the crop. 

“I just wanted to get out of Sydney. I love Tamworth. I’ve been up here for the festival and have a few friends up here,” he said.

As part of the latest round of recruits, eight officers were posted to positions stationed across the Western Region but locally, the New England Command missed out.