Senior Constable Peter Scott, formerly of Oamaru, took over the role from Senior Constable Craig Bennett, on Monday last week.
Snr Const Scott was stationed in Oamaru for 15 years.
While Oamaru was a wonderful community and was the ‘‘perfect place’’ for his family to grow up, he had wanted a change and to work in a rural station in the Waitaki Valley.
‘‘I jumped at the opportunity to apply for the Kurow position when it was advertised.’’
He expected the type of work he did and how he would do it would be different, given the job was a sole-charge position.
At the end of his first week he identified the town and area had a strong network of services and volunteers.
‘‘I’ve met a lot of them already and look forward to working with them around the district.
‘‘The people of Kurow could not have been more welcoming and I have spent the first week meeting as many people as possible. There has been a constant stream of people pop by the station just to say hello and introduce themselves which is fantastic.’’
He had holidayed in the Waitaki Valley since 2002 and he believed he knew the valley well.
Snr Const Scott said he would miss the people at the Oamaru police station.
‘‘I’ll miss the camaraderie of working in a bigger station, but I’ll still have plenty of contact with Oamaru police which is a bonus about staying in the district.’’
Snr Const Scott joined the police in 2000.
He was posted to the South Auckland police emergency response group.
He said South Auckland was a great place to police, but he and his wife decided to move to Oamaru when their children started school.
‘‘It was the best thing I ever did.’’
