The rapport between Nelson Bays Police and the local polytech has gone to the next level – with a student social worker joining the frontline.
The Family Harm team has hosted Nicole Gibson of Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) on a three-month placement.
‘It was really interesting to see this whole other side of Nelson to what you usually see as a civilian,” says Nicole.
“It’s helped me to put a lot of my class learnings into practice.”
Nicole also spent periods within other areas of Police, including the File Management Centre, Custody, Intelligence, Te Pae Oranga (community justice panel), Big Brothers Big Sisters, Youth Aid, Criminal Justice Support Unit, Prosecutions, Victim Support, and community policing.
“With Victim Support I got to talk to a victim of an incident, and it was a really big eye-opener to see things from their perspective,” says Nicole.
“I saw some cases go right through from the frontline to prosecution and court.”
With a passion for mentoring and coaching, Constable Mike Cowie put his hand up to facilitate the opportunity.
“For Police, the relationship is an exercise in trust and confidence,” says Mike.
“Nicole’s going to be working in our business, which has a real focus on intervention and helping people.
“It’s a great opportunity for a student to gain a practical understanding of what both Police and social workers do.”
The idea to give a student frontline Police experience came from NMIT tutor Dr Letitia Meadows, who got in touch with Sergeant Steven Midgley of the Nelson Bays Family Harm team.
“Given both the Police and social work practitioners engage directly with diverse community challenges, there was an opportunity to work more closely together, as this related to student learning,” says Dr Meadows.
“The mentoring Mike and the wider team at Police already do translated well for a social work placement. Nicole’s had incredible learning and support from the team that she can link to her social work training.”
During her almost 500 hours’ work with Police, there was good feedback from staff on the way Nicole spoke to victims and offenders.
She says her hands-on work with Police has increased her skills, which she can use in the field.
“Among them are the various ways we can interact and engage with people through active listening. And I’ve benefitted from being involved in interviews and statement taking.
“Another thing is self-awareness – knowing how you’re coming across to people,” adds Nicole.
Her work will go towards a Bachelor of Social Work qualification.
The placement was a pilot project between Police and NMIT.
The partnership will now look at how well the venture went, with a view to hosting another student.