New Wairarapa cop thrives on the job

FIRST DAY: Theresa William is settling into her sergeant's role at the Masterton station. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

NOT knowing what to expect is one of the highlights of the job for Masterton's newest sergeant.

For Sergeant Theresa William, who took up her role at the Masterton station three weeks ago, every day brings a new challenge.

Miss William, who hails from a tradition of public service, with a father who served in the military police and a brother working as a constable in the Cook Islands, said she always intended to join the police.

"It's a fantastic job, you never know what's going to happen next. Sometimes you are dealing with people on their best day, or it can be their worst day," she said.

Unpredictability was one of the highlights of the job.

"You never know what job you're going to be going to next, what situation you are going to be put in, [it's] just the excitement of having to make decisions."

A keen diver and spearfisher, she said Masterton was her first choice of transfer and she was loving it.

"Getting out of the city, moving into a smaller community ... I think Wairarapa as a whole is an awesome area. There's probably more of a mix of jobs, general jobs and then you get the rural jobs."

Although she spent a year working at Bouzaid and Ballaben in Greytown to help pay for university, she was still getting to know Wairarapa.

"I need to orientate myself. I don't know a lot of the community and I'm working with new staff and a new station ... just to get to know how things are done in the Wairarapa."

Miss William, a police officer for eight years, was previously based at the Wellington central station.

She joins Sergeant Jennifer Nelley as Wairarapa's second female sergeant.

It was good to have a balance between male and female officers, Miss William said: "There's a lot of women working within the station ... and that makes it better balanced. It's a good, healthy mix."

Of Cook Island Maori and Pakeha descent, she spent five years teaching English in Japan after gaining her degree in Maori at Canterbury University.

With both parents working for the Air Force, the family moved around a lot, including six years in Singapore.

Miss William's goals include becoming a senior sergeant and continuing to find job satisfaction: "You have to enjoy what you do and if you are not enjoying it then you might as well leave. Life is too short to be unhappy."