Arguably, Tasmania Police officers have one of the toughest jobs out there.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Not only do they deal with traumatic incidents daily, but they are also charged with the safety of the community in which they live and are partly responsible for ensuring the long arm of the law is meted out responsibly.
Those who step outside the designated laws we have set out as ways to live by are swiftly dealt with, at least Tasmania Police officers and inspectors try their best to make it swift. Police officers are there to enforce the law but they are also there to make sure people feel safe to come to them in a crisis or an emergency incident.
Conversations about the police start from a very young age - who here was guilty of telling a wayward child that the police "will come and arrest you if you don't behave".
These conversations may scare a child straight but they also have unseen ramifications - they may teach a child that police are to be feared and, in some cases, that conviction stays with a child until adulthood.
Tasmania Police are this year participating in the Tamar Valley Peace Festival, by holding the "Cuppa with a Copper" event.
The event encourages members of the community to break bread (and have a cup of tea) with a member of the force, to break down those stigmas and encourage community connections with the organisation.
There are many community outreach programs police officers are involved in: from more police "on the beat" walking in their communities to PCYC and adopt-a-cop programs in and outside schools.
While criticism has been on police over their community lockdown work, that discussion shows that more needs to be done to overturn the stigma many police officers report every day on their job.
They have a responsibility to keep us safe but we must trust them to do their job.
Police play a vital role in a civil society and it's important they aren't viewed as unapproachable, because that can only have a negative impact. It could stop a victim coming forward about a crime. At the end of the day, police are ordinary people with families, just in uniform.