ABORIGINAL women are a part of a changing guard in the NSW Police, as 12 young Indigenous students get one step closer to their dream job.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The latest round of Indigenous Police Recruitment Our Way Delivery (IPROWD) graduates were recognised at TAFE New England’s Tamworth campus yesterday, after ticking all the boxes.
Oxley Acting Superintendent Jeff Budd and IPROWD co-ordinator Peter Gibbs were on hand to present the students with their certificates as they move closer to their career in policing.
“They’ve got much to look forward to,” Mr Gibbs said.
“And, as an Aboriginal man, to be able to see 12 young people putting their hands up for a program like IPROWD is an amazing feeling.”
The IPROWD program was developed by NSW Police and TAFE NSW to provide assistance to students in completing their medical, fitness and psychometric test as part of the recruitment process.
Mr Gibbs has seen the program grow since its inception and said there was no limit to how big the scheme could get.
“We have over 80 people who have joined the NSW Police, over 250 have joined other agencies, over 50 have gone to study further; fantastic outcomes,” he said.
Acting Superintendent Budd said the program went a long way to breaking down barriers and misconceptions in the community
“We have over 500 sworn members in NSW Police that are Indigenous,” he said. “They work through our communities, and it just makes everyone’s job and life experience easier.”
Nine out of the 12 graduates in yesterday’s class are female, and with almost 30 years’ experience in the force, Acting Superintendent Budd said more and more women were becoming motivated to join NSW police.
“In the last decade, the number of women seeking a career in the police has certainly increased, and that’s fantastic because they bring diversity to our workplace which didn’t exist before,” he told The Leader.
“In most communities, Aboriginal women are the stronger ones in the community. They are the ones that set the pace for families and these ladies will set the pace for the community in the future.”
Proud Wiradjuri woman and IPROWD graduate, Cherylleigh Partridge, grew up in Glen Innes and noticed the female majority in the group.
“When we all turned up, we literally said, ‘Where are all of the boys?’,” Ms Partridge said.
The aspiring policewoman said she noticed females were in the majority across the board while on a memorable trip to the Goulburn academy but said men and women were equals in the force.
“I don’t know about special, but the different qualities between men and women are what makes the police force great,” she said.
