Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke today welcomed Sergeant Rhyanna Handsaker to her new role in Young.
Ms Cooke joined Superintendent Chris Schilt, Commander of the Hume Police District and Officer in Charge of the Young Police District Inspector Michael Madgwick to welcome Sergeant Handsaker, who began duties this week.
“It’s wonderful to welcome Sergeant Handsaker to Young, a community very close to my heart,” Ms Cooke said.
“The team here do an exceptional job keeping our community safe and I’m encouraged that they will now be even stronger with the addition of another experienced and formidable Sergeant at the station.”
Superintendent Schilt said Sergeant Handsaker was joining the team from Sydney, has experience working in country locations.
“It will be great to have her – she brings a lot of experience and will be an asset to the community and the police here at Young,” Spt Schilt said.
“We’ve also just announced Sergeant Matthew Wright has taken up the role of team leader within the new Crime Prevention Unit.
“This is a multidisciplinary team with skills in domestic violence, youth liaison, licensing and crime prevention and disruption.”
The new unit in Young is a result of the NSW Police reengineering program and will service the wider Hilltops and Weddin areas.
“Crime Prevention Units like the one here operating out of Young and others servicing the lower end of the electorate are game changers. They allow general duties officers to get on with the job responding to crimes as quickly as possible, while a dedicated team are targeting offenders and crime hotspots proactively,” Ms Cooke said.
“It’s been a great year for policing across the Cootamundra electorate with the introduction of this unit in Young and more like it serving our four Police Districts. We’ve also welcomed numerous probationary constables right across the electorate and into small communities in Junee, Cootamundra, Gundagai, Cowra and West Wyalong.”
