No limits to job opportunities on SAPOL’s blue horizon

With more than 40 specialist pathways to jobs that offer excitement, diversity and security, there’s never been a better time to join the South Australia Police

Since leaving her home city of Belfast in 2011, Katie Webb has made her home in Adelaide – and her career at SAPOL.

The 33-year-old applied to join SAPOL after receiving a medical diagnosis that changed her life.

“I was in a comfortable corporate event management job and then, in 2019, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer,” she says. “That was a big shock. I was 29 and I thought, ‘OK, if there’s anything I want to do, I’m going to have to take the bull by the horns’.”

Growing up with her police officer mother and having studied criminology at university, policing was a natural option. “I’d always wanted to be in the police and I think I learned a lot about myself when I was unwell,” she says. “I learned how resilient I am.” That resilience proved invaluable while going through the recruitment and training process to graduate as a Probationary Constable in 2022.

“I remember the relief when I got the phone call to say my application had been successful,” she says. “I was that elated I’d got in because the recruitment process was a steep hill.

SAPOL Probabtionary Constable Katie Webb with Police Commissioner Grant Stevens. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

“The first two weeks at the Academy, I struggled a lot with impostor syndrome, seeing all these people walk around in uniforms. It was like, ‘Oh my god, I’ve actually made it’. It took a lot of dedication – it was basically physical fitness and study – but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“We had around 23 students and around 11 of us were female. I made friends for life.”

Probationary Constable Webb’s ambition now is to grab every opportunity that arises. “When I graduated from the Academy, I said my aspirations were to join prosecution and sometimes I think I’d love to go into corrections,” she says.

“There’s fantastic support with wherever you want to go, but at this point I’m happy doing general duties. For me, job satisfaction is seeing that I’ve actually helped someone.”

Heart of the community

Chelsea Lieberwirth learned the values of community from her grandmother, a respected leader in the city of Whyalla, where she grew up.

So when her grandmother passed in 2016, it was only natural to follow in her footsteps.

“My grandma was a pretty prominent person in the community and you’d always hear stories about what’s happening and how you can make change, so I thought, ‘Why not try?’” she says.

She joined SAPOL in 2017 and graduated as a Community Constable later that year.

“I was the voice of the community, that middle person, so if the community had any issues or felt they weren’t being heard, they could speak to me,” she says. “Some were a bit wary about police interactions – my role was to build community connections to get better outcomes.”

SAPOL Probationary Constable Chelsea Lieberwirth has strong connections with her Whyalla community. Picture: Supplied

Her Community Constable role also took her to the Nullarbor, to spend 15 months embedded in the Aboriginal community of Yalata. “I absolutely loved it – it was really good to have that cultural experience,” she says. “Being able to build great working relationships with the Yalata community, getting them on board with SAPOL and having that harmonious relationship was really good.”

In May 2022, she graduated into mainstream policing and today, as Probationary Constable Lieberwirth, continues to practice those same values as she carries out general policing duties. “The bonus of working in my home community is that I get to interact with so many people I care about,” she says.

“When I’m going to call-outs, my interactions with some people are different because I have had those more lighthearted interactions, so I’m able to help in a crisis. No one can ever fill my grandma’s shoes – but I can wear a different pair and still help as much as she did.”

On the front line of career diversity

When Zach Feutrill-Binns joined SAPOL in 2010, his initial vision was to be on the front line for his entire career, carrying out general duties. But, in the 13 years since, he has covered a plethora of operational roles, from intelligence to public transport, Covid-related duties and more.

“When I first joined, I loved the idea of general duties and patrol work and for the first three years of my job I never wanted to leave there,” he says. “I thought ‘this is where I’m going to be for my entire career because that’s where I get to do all the exciting things’. But, as my career progressed, I found myself wanting to diverge into different areas.”

Senior Constable First Class Zach Feutrill-Binns. Picture: Russell Millard

Those have included a stint with the Sturt Intelligence section, carrying out pushbike patrols as part of the Westfield Security Response team, a promotion to Sergeant of the Public Transport Crime Team, and secondment as Senior Sergeant of the Covid hotel quarantine scheme.

His current role is Senior Constable First Class in SAPOL’s recruitment section.

“I’ve always let myself be guided by how I was feeling and what I felt I needed to accomplish,” he says.

“The best thing about SAPOL is that you can let yourself do that.

“In the recruitment section, I have found my niche. My job is end-to-end recruiting for police officers and police security officers and, because it’s so varied, it’s really interesting.

“You’re not sitting there doing one type of work all day. You’re doing interviews, background checks, integrity investigations and community events.”