New cops take charge – Sergeant Fiona Tolmi is o

By Jade Lawton
CARDINIA Shire has welcomed two new cops.
Sergeant Kevin Iles started at Kooweerup Police Station on 19 January and Sergeant Fiona Tolmi at Emerald on 2 February.
Both Officers in Charge come with previous experience at much bigger police stations.
At Kooweerup, Sgt Iles is getting re-acquainted with the station that he did some relief shifts at more than 10 years ago.
“The station hasn’t changed much,” he said.
Sgt Iles was stationed at Cranbourne some time ago and has more recently been at Melbourne East and Frankston.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind so far. I’ve been tied up learning the internals of the station, but once that’s under control, I hope to get out and meet a few people,” he said.
Sgt Iles said Kooweerup required a different style of policing than some of his previous posts.
“Work here is more proactive than reactive. It’s community minded policing, getting to know people rather than just dealing with situations,” he said.
Sergeant Tolmi, a former nurse from Scotland, previously worked as a staff officer for Assistant Commissioner Gary Jamieson and at a number of inner Melbourne stations.
“It’s a big change coming to Emerald. It’s a slower pace and a different kind of policing,” she said.
“In the next few weeks I will be going around speaking to all the licensees and community groups and introducing myself to the other emergency services up here.”