Constable Kaleb Hayes, 26, graduated from the Royal New Zealand Police College, Porirua in February and, after nine weeks of field training in Dunedin, has spent the past three months based at Balclutha Police Station.
Raised in Milton, Const Hayes spent five years working in farming after leaving school before deciding to pursue policing.
He had expected to remain on duty in Dunedin after graduating, but Balclutha Senior Sergeant Tim Coudret became aware a local recruit was available to Clutha, and approached police management about the opportunity to fill a Clutha vacancy.
"I was pretty much committed to going back to Dunedin as the nearest post available," Const Hayes said.
"[Snr Sgt Coudret] got in contact and said he would see what he could do."
The decision has allowed rookie Hayes to work on his home turf in South Otago and he said he hoped to remain with the Balclutha station for the foreseeable future.
"I definitely appreciate being a lot closer to family and being able to work close to home as well," he said.
Away from work, Const Hayes plays regional rugby, his appearances limited while he settles into his new role.
He said his first few months police work had been varied.
Managing callouts to private residences and traffic incidents made up the vast majority of his workload.
Const Hayes said his motivation for joining the force was “helping people” — as “cliched” as that might sound.
"When I thought of being a police officer, I always thought of the community-policing kind of approach."
He said seeing his mother serve as a volunteer firefighter had also given him an appreciation of first responders and public service.
