LEFT – MOMENT TO REMEMBER: Jemma Galea with mum Fiona Rixon, speaking to NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione at yesterday’s graduation.
FOUR new police recruits will join the Oxley Local Area Command (LAC) after graduating at Goulburn yesterday.
Three of those recruits have been confirmed to be women.
One will be Senior Constable David Rixon’s step-daughter Jemma Galea, who Oxley LAC Superintendent Clint Pheeney yesterday said would be stationed at Gunnedah.
Superintendent Pheeney travelled to Goulburn to watch the graduation and meet the recruits whowill take up positions in his command about the beginning of next month.
He said although the day was obviously an emotional one for Jemma and her family, it was a wonderful day for all the graduates, parents and friends.
“We were very happy to see Jemma graduate, and we look
forward to seeing her in action
at Gunnedah police station,”
Mr Pheeney said.
Lisa Milne, who grew up on a farm near Armidale, will be her fellow recruit at the command and her new career couldn’t be more different from her former one as a jockey.
The 32-year-old, who at 16 was only 155cm tall, always loved horses and was on her way to becoming a top jockey, studying a TAFE certificate for thoroughbred racing and completing a four-year apprenticeship with various horse trainers in rural NSW.
Lisa gave up the career in 2004 when she gave birth to her son. She considered policing after watching her brother graduate in 2009.
“I just had this feeling it was exactly what I wanted to do, too. I may be small, but I am very strong for my size,” she said.
Lisa hopes to join the NSW police mounted unit one day.
Another three recruits will be stationed at the New England and North West’s two other LACs – two at Barwon and one at New England. They were part of the 437 graduating class members at Goulburn, where the attestation ceremony took place.
Out of the group, 315 are men and 122 are women.
Their ages range from 19 to 47; 393 were born in Australia, while 44 were born overseas.
Their attestation ceremony was attended by their families and friends, politicians, senior police and the media.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione officially welcomed them to the force and said he was confident they would be valuable assets to their communities. They graduated with the rank of probationary constable and will complete 12 months of on-the-job training and external studies.
