Seven new probationary constables this week will join the growing ranks of police enforcing law and order in the Clarence and Richmond Valleys, Clarence Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis has announced.
“Five officers will report for duty with Coffs/Clarence District and two with Richmond District, which serves the Richmond Valley as well as the Lismore, Kyogle and Ballina local government areas,” Mr Gulaptis said.
“They are among 218 officers from Class 350 who have just graduated from the NSW Police Academy in Goulburn and they will serve under the State’s newly appointed, first ever woman Commissioner, Karen Webb.”
“As the region reopens we can expect more visitors over Christmas and we can feel even safer in the knowledge there will be seven more officers on the beat in our region,” Mr Gulaptis said.
He said the latest addition was another instalment of the Nationals in NSW Government’s 2019 election commitment for a record 1500 increase in NSW Police, in a deal he helped negotiate with NSW Police Association boss and former Grafton detective Tony King, who is due to return to the Clarence soon.
Premier Dominic Perrottet congratulated our new recruits and recognised the significance of the occasion.
“Today is an important milestone for class 350, their families and friends. After eight months of intensive training, our new recruits join the finest police force in the country, and I wish them all a long and successful career,” he said.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott told the new officers they were “joining a police family of more than 17,000; a modern, well-equipped force focused on driving down crime rates and protecting the community.”
Class 350 includes 163 men and 55 women. 26 recruits were born overseas in countries including Afghanistan, Colombia, Greece, Hong Kong, Iraq, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica and Solomon Islands.
The recruits have completed eight months of foundational training and those allocated to commands within (insert LGA) reported to their stations from Monday 6 December 2021.