Police Communicator Profiles

William Beard - Central Comms

Previously a student at Massey University, Will became a communicator as a stepping stone to Police College, which is a long term goal. "Several people recommended working in Comms to gain skills and experience that would be beneficial for helping me to get into the police," he says.

But the job turned out to be satisfying in itself. "Knowing that what I do for a living directly affects and hopefully has a positive outcome for people throughout the country is one of the most rewarding things about this job".

The most exciting thing is never quite knowing what to expect next. "One minute we will be dealing with a civil dispute that has nothing to do with police, and then the next call might be a serious domestic violence incident," Will says. "Pretty much anything you can imagine and some things that you can’t!"

Will has now gone on to become a dispatcher at Central Comms. In this role, he’s responsible for coordinating the response to incidents and sending police cars to jobs.

Kara Paterson - Police Communicator, South Comms

Having come from working as a dispatcher for ski patrol on a North American ski field, Kara Paterson says one of the best things about her job as a Communicator is getting to talk to New Zealanders from all over the South Island. The other thing she loves is that things are always different in her job.

"The most rewarding thing about my role is getting it right when I’ve been put in a really high pressure situation, and at the end knowing I can say I handled that well and I can feel proud of what I have done," Kara says.

With her appetite for adrenalin it’s no wonder Kara’s favourite hobbies when she’s not working are skiing and dirt biking!

Sharon Broomfield - Police Communicator, North Comms

After 12 years of being a legal secretary, Sharon decided she wanted to get closer to the action when helping people, so she joined the police as a Communicator at the Northern Communications Centre taking 111 and general police enquiry calls.

Sharon says the most exciting and rewarding thing about her job is getting to help people in their time of need, and her communication skills enable her to do this in what she calls an "intense" working environment.

When she’s not helping people at work, Sharon can be found on the sports field cheering her children on, or cooking up a storm in the kitchen for her friends.