Senior police sergeant retires as daughter takes up the baton

To commemorate his retirement, Sergeant Grincais travelled up from Hobart on Friday to join his daughter Constable Emilie Grincais on the streets of Launceston, where she's been based since December 2020.

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Sergeant Grincais began his own career in 1984 and participated in the state's first adult recruitment course outside of Tasmania Police's existing cadet system.

The adult recruitment course was brought in to attract recruits with more life experience, which Sergeant Grincais certainly possessed, having worked as a cameraman, on a prawn trawler and in a furniture factory before deciding to join up.

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That variety of work continued into his 38-year police career, which took him across many departments and roles, including a secondment with the Australian Federal Police and a two-year posting on Flinders Island. When asked about his most memorable posting, Sergeant Grincais noted two placements that he thinks of fondly.

"It's a toss up between working in traffic on the motorcycles because having your own motorcycle and being free everyday was a great way to to work.

"Working at the Hobart Watch was also great because you had a really tight-knit group of people that you work with all the time. You worked a 24-hour roster, seven days a week, and that was very rewarding," he said.

Sergeant Grincais' start in Tasmania Police mirrors his daughter's, who joined up a few years ago in her 20s when she started to get serious about a career.

According to Constable Grincais, growing up with a father in the police force granted her some interesting life experiences.

"When he was transferred to Flinders Island, my sister and I loved it. It's a very different experience growing up on such a small island," she said.

"Then when we went to see the police station at school dad organised for me and my best friend at the time to be handcuffed together."

It wasn't always a light-hearted affair, however, and since joining the force herself, Constable Grincais has gained a new insight into her father's profession.

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"It was always a little bit scary growing up because of the risks in the job. Now I'm in it [the police] as well, I understand how dangerous it can be," she said.

Looking back almost four decades, Sergeant Grincais has seen some major changes in policing but said at its heart the job will always remain the same.

"A lot has changed but ultimately you still need to be able to communicate with people at a grassroots level - that hasn't changed. But in saying that, so much of the technology has changed since I started," he said.

"When I went through the academy, we had to learn to touch type on a typewriter. Now it's not only easier to make a report now but also the amount of reporting that is done these days is exponential compared to 30 years ago."

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Turning to his upcoming retirement, Sergeant Grincais intends to move back with his wife to country Victoria, but not before he got a chance to work with his daughter on the job.

"I've always said I'd love to work a couple of shifts with Emilie. So we had to make this happen before July when I retire," he said.

Moving forward Constable Grincais looks to carry on a budding family tradition at the Launceston Police Station.

"I don't think there's a better station to learn at. You get a lot of experience very quickly and it's a whole other world up here compared to Hobart in terms of policing," she said.

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