Lucy Fleming has come back to Ōtaki to join the ranks of Ōtaki’s police.

Although born in Wellington, she moved here with her family in time for her to complete a year at Waitohu School before going to Ōtaki College. Straight to university after that, she finished a degree in what would appear to be a world away from policing – biomedical science (the study of health and disease in humans and animals).

However, working as a policewoman was an attraction for her, so she joined one of the intakes at the Police College in 2020. On graduation, she got her first assignment at Palmerston North.

As a young policewoman – she’s still only 24 – she experienced several incidents she describes as “unpleasant”, including dealing with unruly youths in the Palmerston North plaza.

Then she noticed that police in Ōtaki were recruiting, so she jumped at the opportunity to return to the place she calls home, and where her parents still live.

“It was a job in front-line policing, which I really enjoy,” she says. “It’s great to be back here where I can interact with the community and feel like I’m not just the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.

“There’s always something going on. you don’t join up to sit behind a desk.”

Lucy enjoys the Ōtaki lifestyle, made even sweeter by having a police house to live in.

A big part of the lifestyle she enjoys here is surf lifesaving. She joined the Ōtaki surf club when she was 14 and continues to contribute to club activities.