The recent graduation ceremony for overseas officers (PACE) at the QPS Academy at Oxley. Picture: QPS
A 36-strong New Zealand contingent were among a large group of experienced officers to graduate into the Queensland Police Service (QPS).
Seventy-eight officers from interstate or overseas graduated at a recent ceremony held at the QPS Academy at Oxley, the service announced recently
The overseas graduates were part of the service’s Police Abridged Competency Education (PACE) program, which is a special-entry program for experienced officers which runs for 18-weeks
Addressing the induction parade, Commissioner of Police, Steve Gollschewski welcomed Queensland’s newest police officers, acknowledging the cohort’s expertise from across Australia and around the world.
“Today’s graduates bring great experience, diverse perspectives and valuable skills from their previous policing careers,” Gollschewski said.
“These new officers will help boost the Service’s frontline resources and strengthen our ability to meet the evolving needs of our community.
“I applaud each of them for their dedication to making our community safer and feeling safer.”
The officers inducted into QPS represent the largest PACE cohort to date. Of the 78 new officers, 36 served with New Zealand Police while others came from the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada, Hungary, United States and other Australian police services.
YOUTH AID OFFICER
Constable Rebecca Greenwood, who served in the New Zealand Police for five years, will be serving in the South Brisbane police district.
“My experience as a youth aid officer in New Zealand, working with high-risk youth offenders, has given me the skills and passion to help aid these challenges in Queensland,” she says.
“The opportunity to continue my policing career overseas while taking advantage of Queensland’s weather and being closer to family and friends was very attractive,” she says.
“I am looking forward to exploring the state and already, between experiencing the city and beaches, plus working in the career I love, I feel I am living a well-balanced lifestyle.”
The QPS offers a $20,000 relocation incentive to eligible applicants, along with higher pay from day one at the academy.
There are more than 580 applications for the PACE program with 700 QPS recruits in training and more than 2400 applicants for the QPS.
In 2023, the Qld Government announced that up to 500 new police officers a year will be recruited from overseas for five years as part of a new recruitment campaign.
The campaign targets current experienced and serving foreign police officers only and there is no restriction on nationality for recruitment.
