Change right call for cop

Constable Georgia Payne, the latest officer to join Katanning police station, switched from retail to policing 18 months ago and has not looked back.

Const. Payne said her path to becoming a police officer began with a friend mentioning the idea to her.

“Someone planted the idea in my head and I wasn’t happy with what I was doing at the time, which was retail — one thing led to another and I applied for the police,” she said.

After stints in Canning Vale and Armadale, Const. Payne moved to the country to further her policing experience and skills.

“I’ve been told by other coppers that going to the country is like no other experience, you deal with everything and you run with every job start to finish and that idea of policing is really awesome to me,” she said. “The opportunity to build relationships with the people in town and help to reduce crime is one thing I really look forward to.”

Const. Payne said she enjoyed keeping active and hiking away from the job and in her short time in Katanning she has already travelled to Albany and walked up Bluff Knoll.

“Bluff Knoll has been on my list for a while, so the first chance I got I went down there and hiked a mountain,” she said.