“POLICE Remembrance Day is essentially our version of Anzac Day; to remember those who’ve gone before us, those who’ve been killed in the line of duty,” said Senior Constable Wes Leseberg from Yass Local Area Command (LAC) while in his home town of Jugiong on Monday to observe Police Remembrance Day with colleagues and community members.
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During the ceremony he had time to contemplate the reality of policing.
“What really hits home on Remembrance Day is that every shift there’s no promises that you will come home at the end of the day,” he said.
Officers also there to pay their respects were Senior Constable Danielle Leseberg, Sergeant Steve Magnone and Region Chaplain Rev Ron Robinson.
Snr Cst Leseberg says that camaraderie is everything to him; it provides him with security and peace of mind.
“Without the bloke in the blue uniform beside you you have no other help. Most days you have to rely on who’s coming to help you, and that’s the boys in blue.
“Out here in the country it’s not so bad, we do have good community members in these little town’s who will certainly come to our aid but in bigger cities that’s not the case.”
Snr Cst Leseberg says that common sense it the best tool to curb dangerous situations.
“After time you get a bit of a sixth sense and start watching your back a little bit more, there’s still no guarantees.”
He says local communities play an essential role in policing.
“We can’t police without the community. We police for them; it’s our local communities that tell us what’s going on and without that information we can’t be as good of a police force as possible.
“It’s most important to engage with our community and have them engage with us.
Snr Cst Leseberg says it’s important to build rapport with the community as it assists police in overcoming a number of barriers to crime-prevention.
“Mistrust is a definite barrier, but who you are as a police officer individually will determine how you get along with people, especially in small communities.
“We like to bring the horses along to services and events like this because that really breaks down those barriers. People come up and have a chat, pat the horses and realise we are just people; you can come and have a yarn with us and we’re not gonna bite.
“We’re not looking to lock everybody up, we’re happy just to talk,” he said.
