Kate Withers
A career in policing was written in the stars for Brooke Arthur.
The Traralgon Constable recently discovered an old primary school workbook with “police officer” scribbled in the dream job section.
She took a somewhat convoluted route but all the pieces came together in 2018.
“My husband is in the job and listening to him every day talk about all the things he did the people he helped and spoke to, I was like ‘that sounds good’,” Constable Arthur told The Express.
What some might consider a late introduction to the force at age 21 was a well-timed moved for Constable Arthur.
“Me personally, I couldn’t have done it straight after leaving school. I think it depends where you are in your life and what you want to do and what you’ve done,” she said.
“Definitely life experience I think plays a key role in this, but you also gain a lot of life experience in the job as well and come across a lot of different people from different walks of life.”
Starting at the Victoria Police academy in Glen Waverley was daunting for Constable Arthur, but the experience of living onsite afforded her an immersive and “amazing” experience.
“I hadn’t studied for 18 years or something so I was terrified, absolutely terrified, I thought ‘how am I going to do this?’ she said.
“But living in at the academy was good for me in the sense that it gave me all that time to spend as much as I could studying.
“If you put the time, and you’ve got the time, it’s something I’ve never experienced in my life but it was very rewarding.
“I met some of the most amazing people; your squad become your family, because you experience so much together, physically, emotionally and mentally.
“I’ve never been put through that in my life and you’re doing it together.”
The only surety in policing is that every day will present a new hurdle.
“The people I’ve met, the challenges I’ve faced, the people in the job and outside of the job, there’s a lot of amazing and brave people out there that you come into contact with and get to help,” Constable Arthur said.
“It’s never too late. Give it a go. Don’t give up.”
Victoria Police will hold an information session on Wednesday, February 12 at the Traralgon RSL from 6pm-8pm.
To register, visit eventbrite.com.au/e/police-information-session-traralgon-february-tickets-85927578701
