By Abby Walter

Single-member police stations in Rupanyup and Speed are once again home to officers who are looking forward to working with and for the community.

Senior Constable Andy Grimes, who is stationed at Rupanyup, said he believed working in a rural setting was more rewarding than working in a metropolitan area.

“I love the job. I come to work, I do my job and I go home, I don’t take work with me,” he said.

“I think it’s important to enjoy your work. If you enjoy your work you never do a day’s work in your life. While we get some pretty crappy jobs, there are jobs that are quite rewarding.”

Senior Constable Grimes said he hoped to learn as much as he could while in Rupanyup and have a positive impact on the community.

“I want to try to bring an already stable community more together, because they haven’t had a police presence in four years,” he said.

“I’m getting a lot of feedback from locals about how they appreciate having someone they can report something to, or just have a chat with.

“My goal is to keep crime low, so if I get wind of anything I can try to nip it in the bud early.”

Senior Constable Grimes said his career began in Melbourne East and Oakleigh before moving to Ararat.

“I volunteered to go to Ararat, which was obviously a little quieter, but with a little more time to learn your job and the processes. I loved it more than the hustle and bustle of the city,” he said.

Senior Constable Grimes said he spent about three years in Ararat before transferring to Stawell, and had also completed secondments at Warracknabeal and Hopetoun to assist with staff shortages.

“You get to know who people are and have more of an understanding of certain crimes and why they occur,” he said.

“It’s easier to manage and implement things to effectively change a pattern of criminal behaviour.

“I grew up in England in a semi-rural area, so I am quite familiar with community spirit and everyone working together as one.”

Network

Senior Constable Grimes said police officers in nearby stations worked together to attend jobs and keep the community safe.  

“We have Minyip and Murtoa 15 minutes on either side, so generally speaking if we are rostered at the same time and there is a job central, we will attend together,” he said.

“If nobody from those two stations is rostered on and it’s just myself, the nearest stations would be Stawell or Warracknabeal and they’re more than happy to come and assist on certain jobs as well.

“There’s always a buddy system going on, so while I can attend some jobs on my own it is still preferred to have backup.”

Horsham Acting Superintendent Jo Janes said a new police officer, Senior Constable Nathan Hunt, had also started at the one-member Speed Police Station.

“During the past couple of years, the member who was staffed at Speed had been absent for a long time and in November the position was vacated,” she said.

“The position has been filled and the new member started at the end of January.

“Senior Constable Hunt has come from Camperdown to work at Speed and is excited to work with us.

“I invite anyone who sees him out and about to say hello, make him feel welcome and let him know if there is anything he can help with.”

Acting Superintendent Janes said police operations at Speed, Hopetoun, Woomelang and surrounds occurred in a cluster-type arrangement.

“The local police work together as they are in small remote areas and policing a big network helps each other,” she said.

“To have Nathan fill the Speed position in the residence will be beneficial locally and I’m sure the community will be excited to hear the news.

“The ‘blue’ family would like to welcome Nathan to Speed and I’m sure the community will join me in our excitement to see someone they can stop and talk to.

“Speed doesn’t have a lot of the business that a lot of bigger towns have, however, it does have the Mallee Machinery Field Days every August where about 8000 people flock to the town, so it’s certainly on the map and we’ll put him to work.”

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