General News
9 October, 2023
New police chief warms to Wimmera
“It was definitely a learning curve trying to become familiar with the area as it’s so big,” Supt McCrory told the Warracknabeal Herald
Horsham’s first female police chief says she has been warmly welcomed across the communities she serves, and has found Wimmera people to be happy, kind and resilient.
Superintendent Sharon McCrory, who has just marked seven months at the helm, said getting to know her 40,000 square kilometre patch had proved a big learning curve, since moving here after 38 years in the force, which included surveillance, prosecutions and intelligence roles.
“It was definitely a learning curve trying to become familiar with the area as it’s so big,” Supt McCrory told the Warracknabeal Herald.
“And each community has very different and diverse issues, but I believe we’re better off crime-wise here."
Born in Adelaide, Supt McCrory began her police career as a Junior Constable in Collingwood in 1985, and was most recently Local Area Commander for the Stonnington region of Melbourne before promotion brought her to the Wimmera.
“Most people are happy to have a general chat and are resilient, self-sufficient and self-reliant,” she said.
“They will try to sort out their issues without bringing it to the police at the first opportunity.
“This could be because they think the services are few and far between and, while it does help us, I do encourage everyone to reach out in times of need.”
Unfortunately, her time at the top has not been without its challenges.
“I had road traumas with a number of fatalities in my first few weeks,” she said.
“It was confronting, and I kind of took the preventable road deaths and serious injuries personally.
“Currently we are measuring community sentiment around the upcoming Referendum and would like to remind everyone that the local Aboriginal communities are caught in the middle.
“Everyone is welcome to their opinion. However, they do not have the right to be vitriolic, violent or nasty to the Indigenous community."
With further goals in her sights, Supt McCrory aims to get the road safety message out to the community and reduce the number of local fatalities.
“Looking at the road toll, we are heading in the wrong direction in Victoria,” she said.
“We all know the roads need fixing and that it won’t happen overnight, but we need to stop blaming the roads and, instead, change driver behaviour."
Supt McCrory said resourcing was also a concern, with roster changes that require all police to work in pairs - or “two-up” - meaning the station reception is sometimes closed.
“The reception closures are for the safety of our members but, just because the door is closed, it doesn’t mean we’re not out there serving our communities,” she said.
“I hope to continue building relationships and trust between police and the communities to further encourage the sense that police are part of the community too, and to encourage people to engage with us.”