A force for good

INTERNATIONAL Women’s Day is a time to recognise that a woman can do anything, according to Leading Senior Constable Tracey Van Looy.

LSC Van Looy is permanently assigned to the Torquay Police Station but has served in several different roles over the course of nearly two decades in the force, including postings in Werribee, Colac, and Geelong.

Specialist units she has been seconded to include the Youth Tasking Unit, the Community Engagement Unit, the first Multicultural Liason Officer at the Geelong Police Station, the Liquor Licensing Unit, the Family Violence Unit, and she was one of the first female officers at the Waurn Ponds Police Station and the first ever at the Lorne Police Station.

“Anyone can do any occupation, any female can,” LSC Van Looy said.

“I have never had issues in my life as a female working at VicPol … originally, this was a quite male-dominated job.

“Nothing fazes me; no job fazes me.

“To get into this job is actually quite tricky – it’s not a walk in the park, otherwise everyone would be in it. It’s definitely an occupation where you need certain skills and to be quite confident.

“But for International Women’s Day, all over the world, women can have a chance and they can do an occupation that they would like to do and they shouldn’t be shy away from it just because they’re a female.

“We’re all equal, there is nothing different about us.

“We’re all important – some people prefer to talk to female members in certain situations, and male members in certain situations, and having the balance of both is important, and it’s important that VicPol have the balance of both as an organisation.”

She said female officers in Victoria Police could pursue areas that were traditionally more male-oriented.

“I know in VicPol, many years ago, and I’m going back a long time, women were more doing things like Police in Schools, but over the course of years, we’re frontline; we’re out there, we’re dealing with it.”

She is presently the Police Peer Support Officer for the Surf Coast, which she believed was “the most important role for me as a police officer – looking after our own”.

International Women’s Day will be observed around the world on Tuesday, March 8.