The latest resident of Walcha Road has a passion for serving the community, road safety and enjoying the outdoors.
Senior Constable Stuart Churchill (pictured) is the new Walcha Road police officer and he is keen to get to know the locals.
“My first weeks have been good, I have done a couple of jobs so far and I am getting to know the locals,” Constable Churchill said.
“I met quite a few people at the Bowling Club and Rugby Club after the football and I have to say everyone has made me feel very welcome.”
Constable Churchill says his immediate focus is getting to know his colleagues, the area and the locals.
“I believe that as a local Police Officer it is important for people to see you around,” Constable Churchill said.
“I love talking to people and have an open door policy at my station. By this I mean, at anytime, day or night, if someone needs my help I will do what I can to help. I think it is important for police officers to be approachable.”
Experienced in running a small community station, Constable Churchill was previously stationed in a one-man station in Tullibigeal, a small country town between Lake Cargelligo and Condobolin.
“I have family that live in Glen Innes and family in Port Macquarie and I just wanted to be a little closer to them after we lost my mum last year,” said Constable Churchill.
“The main difference between Tullibigeal and Walcha I have found so far is the landscape.
“Out west the land is very flat and the farming out there is mostly crop farming with some farmers branching out into livestock.”
Constable Churchill joined the NSW Police in 2002, after working in Nauru, Indonesia with the Australian Protective Service, a branch of the Australian Federal Police.
“During my service with the AFP I was deployed to all of the Detention Centre riots,” he said.
“I had always wanted to join the NSW Police and when the time was right I applied for and was accepted into the Force.
“My Dad was in the AFP for 30 years and I always knew that I wanted to be a police officer. I have always respected the work that our police do and always wanted to be a part of that.”
Constable Churchill says the best thing about the job is being able to help people.
“I still believe that we have respect as police officers from most of the community we serve,” he said.
“I believe that most people in out society have respect for what we do, and seeing the smile on a child’s face or when someone says thank you, it makes the job all worth it. “
The most challenging thing Constable Churchill has had to deal with so far in his career is the sad loss of people’s loved ones on the roads.
“I have a passion for traffic I guess you could say and I believe that we need to work together as a community to educate our kids about road safety, and road trauma before they become a statistic,” he said
“I will not make apologies for pulling someone over and giving them a ticket if I believe that they deserve a ticket, sometimes this is the best way to teach a person to do the right thing on the road.”
A man who enjoys the outdoors: camping, fishing and walking his two dogs Constable Churchill say he is looking forward to summer and the chance to visit the coast with his jet ski.
“I plan to get some water time happening,” he said.
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