POLICE sergeant Nick Preshaw has been appointed as the new “boss” of Tasmania Police on King Island.
After 29 years in the police service, where he spent most of his time in Hobart, Preshaw was ready for what he calls “a country stint”.
“With family and job opportunities, it hasn’t really presented itself until now,” he said.
“This is the perfect time for me and my family and where I am in my career. So, when the job came up and I applied for it, I was lucky enough to get it.”
Until the end of 2024, Preshaw will be separated from his wife and four children most of the time.
It’s not till the end of next year when the youngest child finishes school and goes to university, that his wife will make the move to the island.
Preshaw joined the police after his identical twin brother graduated from the police academy.
“I was working at Armaguard, counting money all day. After he told me about the work he was doing and driving around in police cars, I thought I might have a go at that too,” he said.
The new sergeant sees himself as a jack of all trades, having worked in a variety of jobs. Nine years in the drugs squad, 10 years as a helicopter crewman, since 1996 a member of the police dive squad and lately a member of the serious and organized crime department, have contributed to Preshaw being a very experienced police officer.
King Island is not an unknown territory for Preshaw.
“My brother-in-law, Bob Schiwy, was a sergeant here 20 years ago. I visited him at the time and had a look around.
“Funny enough I am now living in the same house as where we stayed back then.”
The sergeant knows that police work in a small community is very different when compared with cities like Hobart.
“You’ve got to be a part of the community. You’ve got to get to know people. Each community has its own idiosyncrasies, and you can’t police it like in bigger cities.
“You drive the people nuts if I did that, I’d drive King Islanders nuts, and I don’t intend to do that.
“It is all about education. It’s about letting them know when they are doing the wrong thing and giving them the chance to change it – whatever the behaviour is that they’re doing.
“Things like wearing your seatbelt, that’s actually important. Because if you do go down the road, and I think the stats show, most accidents happen within one kilometre of your house, so just jumping in the car and going to the shop and not putting your seatbelt on, could be just as dangerous as going down the highway at 100 km an hour.
“The first couple of times you might get a warning, but please heed the warning because in the end, it’s my job to look after people’s safety and that’s all just a part of it.”
Preshaw is looking forward to meeting the people of King Island and working together with them and keeping the island the place we all love, safe.