Torbay welcomes new recruits

Member for Northern Tablelands Richard Torbay travelled to the NSW Police Academy in Goulburn on Monday as the guest of the New England Local Area Commander Superintendent Bruce Lyons to personally welcome 16 Student Police Officers (SPO) allocated to the region.
About 525 SPOs will graduate from Police Academy Class No 314 on Friday, December 16, before travelling to their allocated Local Area Commands to start duty the following Monday.
The 16 police officers allocated to the New England Local Area Command is the largest single allocation this region has received from any class.
A further 10 officers have been allocated to the adjoining Oxley Local Area Command (Tamworth) and two officers to the Barwon Local Area Command (Moree).
Mr Torbay said, while the officers heading to the New England region were looking forward to graduation day, some were concerned about moving to a regional area.
“The NSW Government has allocated large numbers of officers from this class to regional areas and, as this region received no recruits from the previous class, the boost in numbers is very welcome,” Mr Torbay said.
“Because of the numbers of police graduates being posted outside the metropolitan area, a country posting was not the first choice of all officers with some, understandably, a bit anxious about moving to the country for the first time,” he said.
“I was pleased to have had the opportunity to speak with these officers about moving to the country, dispel some of their concerns and remind them the quality of life in regional areas is superior in many ways to city living,” Mr Torbay said.
“I assured them that they will not only be a member of the police family, but also an important part of our communities.
“I also urged them not to make judgments about what they think the country is like and it was a great opportunity to discuss the many wonderful aspects of life in regional centres.
“The officers now face their final exams in the coming weeks and, all going well, will arrive in the New England Command ready for work just a couple weeks before Christmas and I am looking forward to welcoming them at that time.”