Constable Billie Cook is keeping it in the family by joining her mother, Constable Angelique Williams, in the Hutt Valley, Wellington, on the beat as a sworn police officer.
Constable Cook graduated from Wing 328, the Venkat Raman Wing, on 1 August, along with 77 other new constables with a variety of skills and backgrounds. She is one of seven from the wing who will be deployed to Wellington District.
She has been working as a Police officer for about a week now, and says she is eager to make a difference.
“Having the opportunity to have a positive impact on someone’s life is the ultimate goal that I aspire to, and to me that gives me the ultimate satisfaction. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to join, but also having a family member in police coming home and telling stories about her day and the variety of it made me think it would be a great career for me.
"Going through the recruiting process and police college really opened my eyes to a whole new way of policing, and I am very eager to get out there and make a difference in my community.”
Constable Cook's partner, Jordan Clark, is also a police officer based in Kapiti, where he works front line in a public safety team.
“I graduated in November 2017 on Wing 309 and our Patron was Tina Cross," he says.
“I was inspired to join because a family friend took me for a ride along and I was hooked on the diverse nature of the job and freedom to make a difference in local communities."
Constable Cook's mum, Constable Williams, has been in Police now for a year and a half and is thoroughly enjoying it – enough to encourage her daughter to join.
“I wanted to join the police since a young age but got side-tracked doing various other jobs along the way," she says.
"None of the other jobs really made me feel like I was helping people in the community so I decided to give it a go.
"The recruiting process can be long, you just have to stay focused because it’s well worth it. If you’re interested... give it a go,” she says.
Anyone interested in joining Police should get in touch on 0800 NEW COPS, or find out more at www.newcops.govt.nz.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre
