WHEN Gabrielle Rice was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, the answer was firm – a policewoman.
Now, decades later, Constable Rice is one of two new First Year Constables allocated to Capalaba Police Station following the latest Queensland Police Service academy graduation.
The mother-of-one was among 35 recruits who graduated from the QPS Academy at Oxley on October 5 before being deployed to stations across Queensland.
Constable Rice said policing had always been in the back of her mind.
“Funny enough, it was when I was three, so about the same age as my little one,” she said.
“It was just like, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ … and it was just in bold, like, ‘Policewoman’.
“They’d go, ‘A policeman?’ No, a policewoman. I want to be a girl, and I can do things that men do.”
Constable Rice said finally pursuing that childhood goal meant a great deal.
“It’s always been in the back of my mind, so I think finally pursuing it and going through with it means a great deal to me to be where I am,” she said.
She said she hoped to build her experience on the frontline before eventually progressing to a specialist policing field.
“I would love to kind of progress within the service, maybe go to a specialty field in the future,” she said.
Constable Rice said she had been encouraged by the number of women entering the service, including female officers who had provided a strong example during her training.
“There’s so many women around, which I was delighted to see, especially in the new intakes,” she said.
“Seeing a lot of females coming through in the large intakes as well was really good.
“Our facilitator sergeant was a female as well, so off the bat I kind of looked up to her.
“I’ve seen her strong personality and she was a massive role model.”
The new constable said balancing shift work with motherhood would be one of the challenges ahead, particularly when her young daughter did not want her to leave for work in uniform.
“The difficulty is probably maintaining a healthy relationship with my little one, especially when she doesn’t want me to go to work and put the uniform on,” she said.
“But I know she’s already proud of me, and she apparently wants to be a police officer as well. That was a big moment.”
Acting Police Commissioner Brett Pointing said the 35 graduates brought varied life experience to the QPS, with the cohort including former Defence Force members, QPS employees and people from health, trades, farming, hospitality and retail backgrounds.
“Graduation marks a significant milestone and the beginning of a rewarding career in service to the Queensland community,” he said.
“As these graduates transition from recruit training to their duties as First Year Constables, they will have the privilege and responsibility of supporting people, keeping communities safe and making a positive difference in the lives of Queenslanders.”
