The bells have rung for the first time this week for students participating in the inaugural Pathways to Policing program at Thebarton Senior College, as the State Government and SAPOL continue their drive for more officers.
The program, which aims to impart the skills necessary to become a South Australian police cadet, is being taught to a cohort of Stage 2 SACE students studying Year 12 at the college in 2024.
A structured body of course work will focus on developing skills essential for policing, including interpersonal skills, critical thinking, and problem solving based on SAPOL’s operating environment.
Five Stage 2 subjects have been specially selected for the Pathway to Policing package:
- Workplace Practices,
- Fitness and Wellbeing,
- Essential English,
- Information Processing and Publishing, and
- Research Project.
In last year’s State Budget the Malinauskas Government committed $12.2 million to allow SAPOL to recruit 900 police officers over three years and an additional 189 police security officers.
The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services 2022-23 this week revealed South Australia has the highest number of operational sworn police officers per capita.
Last year SAPOL saw its largest annual recruitment since 2018 at the Fort Largs Police Academy.
As put by Joe Szakacs
The State Government has committed more than $12 million to accelerate recruitment into SAPOL, and this new program forms part of a long-term recruitment strategy.
This course will provide aspiring police officers the best possible chance to prepare themselves for their dream career.
I congratulate SAPOL, the Department for Education and Thebarton Senior College for leading the way in launching the first of what I hope to be a number of similar projects to get graduating students interested in joining SAPOL for a career in policing.
As put by Stephen Howard, SAPOL Chief Superintendent
Through this partnership, SAPOL is hoping to lead ambitious year 12 graduates from various backgrounds into a career as a police officer or police security officer.
We wish the first cohort of students all the best in their endeavours this year and look forward to them applying to join SAPOL on the completion of their studies towards the end of 2024.
This is an exciting time for the students, Thebarton Senior College and SAPOL as we strive to recruit home grown participants to join our organisation.
As put by Eva Kannis-Torry, Thebarton Senior College Principal
Our college and educators are ready and equipped to support students from all backgrounds who have chosen to participate in this carefully curated course.
Participating students will be offered assistance through five subjects, taught as a SACE Stage 2 package. Our skilled educators are excited to be part of a team that will help see the program evolve as a pipeline into a policing career.
