Being one of only three women working the watch in Launceston during her first year of policing meant Sharen Wills-Taylor did a lot of on the job learning.
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"By the time I graduated I was taken to Launceston and there were four watch shifts, but there were only three women to cover those, so there was one shift without a female," she said.
Living close to the station meant Tasmania Police Senior Constable qualified Wills-Taylor was heavily relied on.
"I didn't have a phone, so they just used to send someone round at 2 or 3 in the morning and they'd say, 'Sarg wants you to come help us out'," she said.
"I did a lot of very quick learning back then."
POLICE NEWS
Ms Wills-Taylor retired in May after 37 years in the force.
"My father was a police officer and I suppose a lot of people expected I would [follow in his footsteps]," she said.
At the end of Year 12 Ms Wills-Taylor planned to complete nurse training because, at the time, women had to be 23 years old before they could join the police.
She'd been accepted in the nursing program, but by the time she completed her schooling the application age for women in the force had been dropped to 19.
Six moths out from being 19 Ms Wills-Taylor started at the academy in a transition course.
She described it as being a course in between the two-year cadet course and the shorter adult course.
"Of the 24 who graduated there were still 16 of us in the job when I put my notice in 37 years later," she said.
After spending about 18 months in her first posting at the Launceston station she transferred to George Town.
Throughout Ms Wills-Taylor's childhood her father, retired First Class Constable Kevin Wills, worked at country stations in the state's North-West.
"I actually grew up on a country station with my dad being in the job, so I thought I'd go there (George Town) for a couple of years," she said.
"My two years turned into 14 years."
During her time at George Town, Ms Wills-Taylor met her husband and had two children.
"I really enjoy country policing because of the variety," she said.
"Being at George Town we actually have a boat down here so I was involved in search and rescue, and marine work, as well as the day-to-day policing - you really do everything."
She moved back to the city in 1999 to take up a position in the victim safety response team and work the watch.
"Spending so much time in a country station means back-up isn't five or 10 minutes away, so you learn how to handle people, otherwise things can go very bad very quickly," she said.
Ms Wills-Taylor also worked in the victims unit in the criminal investigation bureau and the early intervention group.
She sat her sergeants exam, but never went for a promotion because she enjoyed the flexibility of life as a constable.
There were a few secondments back to George Town and then she spent her final years at the Newnham station.
Ms Wills-Taylor said Newnham was an investigative station, so there were less night shifts.
"The older you get the harder it is to cope with working night shift," she said.
"When I had my children I worked permanent rotating shift work, it didn't include night shift but it included call-out work.
"By doing shift work I was able to spend more time with my children."
Ms Wills-Taylor saw a lot of change throughout her policing career, including the introduction of occupational health and safety.
"There was no OH&S when I went through the academy," she said.
"We were picking marijuana plants with our bare hands, no gloves or masks."
Her retirement from the force isn't the end of Ms Wills-Taylor's working career, it's just the turning of a new page.
"I took an interest in massage a few years ago when I hurt my back," she said.
"I found that was one thing that helped me cope while I was off so I've decided to take it up."
As well as finishing her massage course, Ms Wills-Taylor is also studying counselling with the aim of providing a stress management and counselling service.
"Hopefully I can help other people who get stressed because it was something I struggled to deal with over the years," she said.
Ms Wills-Taylor laughed as she remembered walking the beat wearing high heels and holding a handbag.
She recalled kicking her shoes off and dropping her bag to chase a person of interest through Launceston's city streets.
Community members picked up her heels and handbag, and waited for the constable until she returned to retrieve her belongings.
"You've got to be able to have fun in the job," Ms Wills-Taylor said.
Tasmania Police officers from across the state wished Ms Wills-Taylor a happy and not so quite retirement from the force at a function in May.