Training Command - Queensland Police Service - Queensland ...

Friday, and have the option of
living in at the academy. While
Trainee Leschke lives not far
from the academy, Trainee
Lea has chosen to live in,
along with another four of his
colleagues.
“I have left a partner and my
pet dogs behind in Townsville
to attend this course. It’s a
challenge being away from
home, but living in is great.
We can use the facilities
whenever we want and it’s
good for networking,” he
said.
“There is a really good
culture here in the academy—
everyone wants you to
succeed and will go out of
their way to help you. The
library staff are amazing; I
can’t speak highly enough of
them. Denise Desnica is great.
She will come over and have
a chat with you and you don’t
realise until later how much
you really needed that chat.”
Trainee Leschke said the
encouragement offered by
not just the staff but also other
students helped make the
program a positive learning
experience.
“When we first arrived here
at the academy, previous JEP
students who are now in the
PROVE Program came and
introduced themselves and
welcomed us. We also have a
Learning Support Officer, an
Indigenous lady called Janelle
McCarthy.
to the same physical and
psychological fitness
standards as police recruits.
“You need to pass a physical
skills test and psychometric
testing; these are the same
tests the recruits are required
to pass,” Trainee Leschke
said.
“The physical tests include a
hang test, where you need to
be able to hang from a chin
bar for at least three seconds,
push ups, and a beep test,
where you have to run back
and forth between two points
in ever decreasing intervals.
These tests weren’t really a
problem for anyone in our
group as all of us are pretty fit
already.”
Trainee Lea said the course
content also included a
physical skills education
component.
“Besides physical skills, we
learn the theory behind it—
how the body works, how to
get your cardio fitness up. The
facilitators are really open to
assisting you on a personal
level. You can have a personal
fitness program developed or
a personalised eating plan.”
While participants earn a
wage completing the JEP,
both trainees said they had
abandoned higher paying
jobs to enrol. Trainee Lea
was selling insurance,
while Trainee Leschke
was a customer service
representative.
“The majority of us have taken
a pay cut to do this, but if you
look at the bigger picture,
then you manage these
things. This is a quality of life
issue. It’s a career I’ve always
wanted, so I’m prepared to
make sacrifices.
“I’m uncertain of where I
will be posted or what I will
be doing. At this stage I’m
thinking dog squad, but there
are so many different options
that I don’t even know about
yet. You can set your sights
as high as you want. And it
means a lot to me for my
family to be proud of me.”
Trainee Leschke said her
parents were extremely proud
of her participating in the JEP.
“I’ve always wanted to do this
and now I’m finally going for
it. Indigenous people are not
always expected to succeed,
but my parents are really
proud of what I’m doing.
Everyone has a different story
though; sometimes there
can be mixed reactions from
relatives. We are both very
lucky to have supportive
families.
“I would definitely
recommend this course to
other Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people. It’s just
crazy how much support there
is. I thought you just came
here as an individual and did
the course by yourself. In
reality, you are doing it as a
group. You’ve all got the same
goals, you help each other
out. I have never regretted
taking this on.”
Trainee Lea said he agreed
working together as a group
was a significant advantage,
and that he would urge other
Indigenous Australians to
enquire further.
“It would be tougher if
we weren’t doing it as a
group. And by the time
we’re finished, we’ll be well
prepared for the PROVE
Program. We will have already
been here at the academy
and know how to act and not
have that nervousness.
“We will have what it takes
to become leaders. I’m really
looking forward to that,” he
said.
By Paula Hedemann,
Media and Public Affairs Branch
“The facilitators are very
accommodating of personal
circumstances. I play soccer
in my own time and I’ve been
selected to compete in New
Zealand. I thought I would
have to miss out, but they’ve
allowed me the time off to
go.”
“For me, the sacrifice is well
worth a career in the QPS,”
Trainee Leschke said.
“It’s a job that will always be
changing. In my old job I was
nine to five on a computer all
day. I just can’t face doing that
for the rest of my life.”
While the requirements
for tertiary education is a
hurdle that can be overcome,
JEP students are subject
Trainee Lea said the reduction
in salary was more than
compensated for by the
opportunities that lay ahead.
JEP Trainees Lea and Leschke hit the books in preparation for their entry into the
PROVE program.
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