Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Female force
Aposter titled ‘‘Recruitment’’ shows a uniformed police officer sprinting along the street after a patrol dog.
The officer is a male, doing little to promote the New Zealand Police target of ensuring 20 per cent of its sworn staff are women. Last month former head of road policing, Superintendent Paula Rose, called for police to try harder to attract female recruits and help their advancement.
Three women, relieving area commanding officer Senior Sergeant Allyson Ealam, Blenheim CIB Constable Michelle Stagg and Nelsonbased communications manager Barbara Dunn, agree to talk this week at the Blenheim police station about their police careers. They say they haven’t noticed any gender barriers.
Michelle, who joined the police 13 years ago after completing a science degree, says it was an ‘‘even-steven playing ground’’ when she was a front-line officer, serving for one year in Lower Hutt and another seven in Blenheim.
‘‘The only thing you have to put up with is 100 big brothers!’’ she laughs.
Allyson, who was 30 before she followed a life-long ambition to join the police force in 1998, agrees. And ‘‘big brothers’’ who look out for their female colleagues are mirrored by the latter keeping an eye on male officers, she says.
Out on the beat, however, tasks are never divided according to gender. ‘‘I’m fine, but I’m not holding the baby,’’ a female officer might tell a male. ‘‘Here, YOU can hold the baby!’’
Barbara joined the police three years ago as an unsworn communications manager. In that role she liaises with the media to keep the public informed of police activities in their communities.
‘‘The majority of effort goes into keeping people out of trouble,’’ she says. ‘‘Locking people up is a very small component. It’s more about keeping people safe, preventing things from happening.’’
Building a good relationship with the community is essential for the police, they all say. Such links are easier to retain in smaller communities like Marlborough than large, urban centres.
Michelle, who had grown up in the top of the south, says the 12 months she spent in Lower Hutt after coming out of Police College were an eye-opener.
‘‘Being from a relatively privileged background . . . I saw what people do live like under pressure.’’
It had been hard seeing people who took little pride in their surroundings and, through lack of money, didn’t have the things others take for granted, like a fridge full of food, or cash to put fuel in the car.
Back in Marlborough, she says her police duties are complemented by leisure interests which get her out in the community. As a member of the New Zealand netball umpire development squad, she is often out of town for weekends during the netball season. Horse-riding is another love on the lifestyle property she shares with her police officer partner.
Allyson is a fitness instructor trainer when she is not on duty at her usual base, Greymouth. Her husband, Phil, is a police officer too. The former Rangiora power board worker became one after seeing how happy his wife was in her new career. Their 23-year-old son has now also joined and recently bought his first house.
Wages in the police are good and career options within it varied, they all say.
Sworn police officer work includes youth education, youth aid, dog handling, family violence, community policing, iwi liaison, rural work and traffic. Unsworn jobs like Barbara’s are also found in the watch house, intelligence services and prosecution.
And anybody can do it, Allyson says. ‘‘All you need is a common-sense head and you need to want to be there.
‘‘I would encourage anybody to do it.’’