Lake Illawarra Police District Superintendent Craig Ireland with new recruits Scott Fury, Briannan Sole and Reagan Strong. Photo: Jen White.
Briannan Sole had always wanted to join the police force, but it was a job offer in a previous career that prompted her to finally follow her dreams.
Briannan, 29, is one of three probationary constables – all from the Illawarra – who have started their careers with the Lake Illawarra Police District after graduating from the Goulburn Police Academy last week.
They are among 26 recruits who have been assigned to the Southern Region, including two in Wollongong and five in the South Coast districts.
Briannan was managing a retail outlet and a wellness centre when she was offered a manager’s role.
“I was given the opportunity to progress into an area management role, but it just wasn’t something that I wanted to do,” she said on her first day on the job.
“I’m a go-getter, so I really like to challenge myself in more ways than possible.
“I found with managing you can’t really grow, you can only go so far.
“But with policing, there’s so many different areas that you can go down.”
Briannan was familiar with the rigours of policing, thanks to a family member who’s been in the force for 29 years.
“Like many others, I want to give back to the community, I want to help,” she said.
“If I can just make one difference to someone’s life, at least I know that I’ve done the right thing.”
Briannan and her fellow constables Reagan Strong and Scott Fury all have the added benefit of serving in their home region.
Lake Illawarra Police District Superintendent Craig Ireland said the trio came with a lot of local knowledge.
“They’re familiar with the lay of the land; they probably already know our hot spots in terms of black spots for traffic, licensed premises and all that,” he said.
“They’re not coming in cold, they know the area, and it’s good to have local people policing the local community.”
During the next 12 months while they’re in training, the probationary constables will ride along with a car crew, progressing to taking the lead on jobs under instruction and then taking the lead themselves.
“Hopefully they get exposed to enough situations and scenarios that within 12 months’ time, they’re fully fledged police officers,” Supt Ireland said.
Briannan said she intended to focus on her training over the next 12 months but ultimately would like to become a detective and work in homicide.
“It’s definitely enticing for me, but I just want to get through the next 12 months,” she said.
“I feel as though there’s going to be so many opportunities that present themselves to me that I probably didn’t know existed, so I’m not going to put everything into one area. I’m just going to figure it out along the way.
“I’m really excited. It’s been a long time coming and I’ve worked really hard to get to where I am.”
She did admit though, that her biggest challenge was probably going to be staying awake on night shifts.
“I’ve always had a nine to five job so I’m really structured and set with a routine. I’m usually in bed by 9:30, so for me, being up overnight is definitely going to be a struggle.”
